Definition of 'time'

Word Frequency

time noun uses

(taɪm )

Word forms: times

1. uncountable noun

Time is what we measure in minutes, hours, days, and years.

...a two-week period of time.

Time passed, and still Ma did not appear.

2. singular noun

You use time to ask or talk about a specific point in the day, which can be stated in hours and minutes and is shown on clocks.

"What time is it?"—"Eight o'clock."

He asked me the time.

3. countable noun

The time when something happens is the point in the day when it happens or is supposed to happen.

Departure times are 08:15 from Baltimore, and 10:15 from Newark.

4. uncountable noun

You use time to refer to the system of expressing time and counting hours that is used in a particular part of the world.

The incident happened just after ten o'clock local time.

5. uncountable noun [also a N]

You use time to refer to the period that you spend doing something or when something has been happening.

Adam spent a lot of time in his grandfather's office.

He wouldn't have the time or money to take care of me.

Listen to me, I haven't got much time.

It's obvious that you need more time to think.

Synonyms: period, while, term, season More Synonyms of time

6. singular noun

If you say that something has been happening for a time, you mean that it has been happening for a fairly long period of time.

He was also for a time an art critic.

He stayed for quite a time.

7. countable noun

You use time to refer to a period of time or a point in time, when you are describing what is happening then. For example, if something happened at a particular time, that is when it happened. If it happens at all times, it always happens.

We were in the same college, which was male-only at that time.

By this time he was thirty.

It was a time of terrible uncertainty.

Synonyms: occasion, point, moment, hour More Synonyms of time

8. countable noun

You use time or times to talk about a particular period in history or in your life.

They were hard times and his parents had been struggling to raise their family.

We'll be alone together, just like old times.

Synonyms: age, days, era, year More Synonyms of time

See behind the times

10. countable noun

When you describe the time that you had on a particular occasion or during a particular part of your life, you are describing the sort of experience that you had then.

Sarah and I had a great time while the kids were away.

11. singular noun

Your time is the amount of time that you have to live, or to do a particular thing.

Now that Martin has begun to suffer the effects of AIDS, he says his time is running out.

Synonyms: lifetime, day, life, season More Synonyms of time

12. uncountable noun

If you say it is time for something, time to do something, or time you did something, you mean that this thing ought to happen or be done now.

Opinion polls indicated a feeling among the public that it was time for a change.

It was time for him to go to work.

13. countable noun

When you talk about a time when something happens, you are referring to a specific occasion when it happens.

Every time she travels on the bus it's delayed by at least three hours.

14. countable noun

You use time after numbers to say how often something happens.

It was her job to make tea three times a day.

15. plural noun

You use times after numbers when comparing one thing to another and saying, for example, how much bigger, smaller, better, or worse it is.

Its profits are rising four times faster than the average company.

16. conjunction

You use times to show multiplication. Three times five is 3x5.

Four times six is 24.

17. countable noun

Someone's time in a race is the amount of time it takes them to finish the race.

He was over a second faster than his previous best time.

More Synonyms of time

Word Frequency

time verb uses

(taɪm )

Word forms: times, timing, timed

1. transitive verb

If you time something for a particular hour, day, or period, you plan or decide to do it or cause it to happen at this time.

He timed the election to coincide with new measures to boost the economy.

I timed our visit for March 7.

Synonyms: schedule, set, plan, book More Synonyms of time

2. transitive verb

If you time an action or activity, you measure how long someone takes to do it or how long it lasts.

A radar gun timed the speed of the baseball.

Synonyms: measure, judge, clock, count More Synonyms of time

3. See also timing

Word Frequency

time phrases: group 1

(taɪm )

Word forms: times

See about time

See ahead of time

See ahead of your time

See all the time

See at a time

See at any time

See at one time

See at the same time

10.

See at times

11.

See for all time

12.

See for the time being

13.

See from time to time

Word Frequency

time phrases: group 2

(taɪm )

Word forms: times

See half the time

See in time

See in/given time

See in/out of time

See in a few etc minutes'/days'/weeks' etc time

See in good time

See in (next to) no time

See to keep time

10.

See to make time

11.

See to make good time

12.

See to make up for lost time

13.

See nine times out of ten

Word Frequency

time phrases: group 3

(taɪm )

Word forms: timesPlease look at meaning [sense 13] to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.

See of all time

See on time

See only/just etc a question/matter of time

See to pass the time

See to take time

See to take your time

See to tell the time

See time after time

See time flies

10.

See no time to lose

11.

See time will tell

12.

See to waste no time

13. time and again

Video: pronunciation of
time

time in American English

(taɪm )

noun

1. duration; continuance

indefinite, unlimited duration in which things are considered as happening in the past, present, or future; every moment there has ever been or ever will be

the entire period of existence of the known universe; finite duration, as distinguished from infinity

the entire period of existence of the world or of humanity; earthly duration, as distinguished from eternity

c. [T-]

Father Time

a system of measuring duration

solar time, standard time

2. a period or interval

the period between two events or during which something exists, happens, or acts; measured or measurable interval

b. [often pl.]

any period in the history of man or of the universe, often specif. with reference to a characteristic social structure, set of customs, famous person living then, etc.

prehistoric times, medieval times, geologic time, Lincoln's time

a period characterized by a prevailing condition or specific experience

a time of peace, have a good time

b. [usually pl.]

the prevailing conditions of a particular period

the times were difficult

a period of duration set or thought of as set

; specif.,

a period of existence; lifetime

his time is almost over

a term of apprenticeship

a term of imprisonment

a term of military service

e. US, Obsolete

a period of indenture

a period or periods necessary, sufficient, or available for something

no time for play

the specific, usual, or allotted period during which something is done

the runner's time was 1.47 minutes; baking time, 20 minutes

the period regularly worked or to be worked by an employee

the hourly rate of pay for the regular working hours

rate of speed in marching, driving, working, etc.

quick time, double time

i. Theatre

one of the three unities

time in British English

(taɪm )

noun

the continuous passage of existence in which events pass from a state of potentiality in the future, through the present, to a state of finality in the past

(as modifier)

time travel

▶ Related adjective: temporal

2. physics

a quantity measuring duration, usually with reference to a periodic process such as the rotation of the earth or the vibration of electromagnetic radiation emitted from certain atoms. In classical mechanics, time is absolute in the sense that the time of an event is independent of the observer. According to the theory of relativity it depends on the observer's frame of reference. Time is considered as a fourth coordinate required, along with three spatial coordinates, to specify an event

See caesium clock, second2 (sense 1), space-time

a specific point on this continuum expressed in terms of hours and minutes

the time is four o'clock

a system of reckoning for expressing time

Greenwich mean time

a definite and measurable portion of this continuum

(as modifier)

time limit

an accepted period such as a day, season, etc

(in combination)

springtime

an unspecified interval; a while

I was there for a time

8. (often plural)

a period or point marked by specific attributes or events

the Victorian times

time for breakfast

a sufficient interval or period

have you got time to help me?

10.

an instance or occasion

I called you three times

11.

an occasion or period of specified quality

have a good time

a miserable time

12.

the duration of human existence

13.

the heyday of human life

in her time she was a great star

14.

a suitable period or moment

it's time I told you

15.

the expected interval in which something is done

the flying time from New York to London was seven hours

16.

a particularly important moment, esp childbirth or death

her time had come

17. (plural)

indicating a degree or amount calculated by multiplication with the number specified

ten times three is thirty

he earns four times as much as me

18. (often plural)

the fashions, thought, etc, of the present age (esp in the phrases ahead of one's time, behind the times)

19. British (in bars, pubs, etc) short for closing time

20. informal

a term in jail (esp in the phrase do time)

21.

a customary or full period of work

the rate of pay for this period

22. Also (esp US): metre

the system of combining beats or pulses in music into successive groupings by which the rhythm of the music is established

a specific system having a specific number of beats in each grouping or bar

duple time

23. music short for time value

24. prosody

a unit of duration used in the measurement of poetic metre; mora

25. See against time

26. See ahead of time

27. See all in good time

28. See all the time

29. See at one time

30. See at the same time

31. See at times

32. See beat time

33. See before one's time

34. See for the time being

35. See from time to time

36. See gain time

37. See have no time for

38. See in good time

39. See in no time

40. See in one's own time

41. See in time

42. See keep time

43. See lose time

44. See lose no time

45. See make time

46. See mark1 (sense 35)

47. See in the nick of time

48. See on time

49. See pass the time of day

50. See time about

51. See time and again

52. See time off

53. See time on

54. See time out of mind

55. See time of one's life

56. (modifier)

operating automatically at or for a set time, for security or convenience

time lock

time switch

verb (transitive)

57.

to ascertain or calculate the duration or speed of

58.

to set a time for

59.

to adjust to keep accurate time

60.

to pick a suitable time for

61. sport

to control the execution or speed of (an action, esp a shot or stroke) so that it has its full effect at the right moment

exclamation

62.

the word called out by a publican signalling that it is closing time

Word origin

Old English tīma; related to Old English tīd time, Old Norse tīmi, Alemannic zīme; see tide1

Examples of 'time' in a sentence
time

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

The government is committed to balancing the books over a sensible period of time.Three times more than my car insurance and four times more than home and buildings cover!Women are three times more likely to have it.There could hardly be a better time for an election.What happened the last time you went for a facial?She has told me what a nasty and difficult man he is time and time again.These include leaving their mobile phones behind and taking temporary replacements to use during their time there.Yet you still make time for your own projects. Obviously I was in the driving seat at the time and in control of the match. This time anorexia became a way of getting some control into my life.

Quotations

But meanwhile it is flying, irretrievable time is flyingVirgilGeorgics

Time is the best medicineOvidRemedia Amoris

Every instant of time is a pinprick of eternityMarcus AureliusMeditations

Wait for that wisest of Counsellors, TimePericles

To every thing there is a season, and a time
to every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die ...
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace Bible: Ecclesiastes

Come what may,
Time and the hour runs through the roughest dayWilliam ShakespeareMacbeth

Time, the subtle thief of youthJohn MiltonSonnet 7

Remember that time is moneyBenjamin FranklinAdvice to a Young Tradesman

Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills themDion BoucicaultLondon Assurance

The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but timeW.B. Yeatsin memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz

Time goes, you say? Ah, no!
Alas, Time stays, we goHenry Austin DobsonThe Paradox of Time

Time rushes by and yet time is frozen. Funny how we get so exact about time at the end of life and at its beginningSister Helen Prejean

Time and tide wait for no man

Time flies (tempus fugit)

Time is a great healer

Time will tell

More idioms containing
time

ride two horses at the same time

in the nick of time

a race against time

a stitch in time

something has stood the test of time

be living on borrowed time

big time

call time on something

have time on your hands

have a whale of a time

Related word partners
time

Trends of
time

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In other languages
time

British English: time /taɪm/ NOUN

how long something takes to happen Time is how long something takes to happen. We measure time in minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years.

I've known him for a long time.