time

/taɪm/
/taɪm/
IPA guide

Other forms: times; timing; timed

Time is the movement from past to present to future. You can tell time with a clock, and it takes time to do anything.

You can have a great time at a party, serve time in jail, or keep time while making music. You can time the runners in a race by keeping track of how long it takes them to finish. Time flies when you're having fun, but sometimes it feels like you have all the time in the world. It's hard to find the right time for some things — like proposing marriage. When you die, your time has run out.

Definitions of time
  1. noun
    the continuum of experience in which events pass from the future through the present to the past
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    geologic time, geological time
    the time of the physical formation and development of the earth (especially prior to human history)
    biological time
    the time of various biological processes
    cosmic time
    the time covered by the physical formation and development of the universe
    civil time, local time, standard time
    the official time in a local region (adjusted for location around the Earth); established by law or custom
    daylight saving, daylight savings, daylight-saving time, daylight-savings time
    time during which clocks are set one hour ahead of local standard time; widely adopted during summer to provide extra daylight in the evenings
    nowadays, present
    the period of time that is happening now; any continuous stretch of time including the moment of speech
    past, past times, yesteryear
    the time that has elapsed
    future, futurity, hereafter, time to come
    the time yet to come
    musical time
    (music) the beat of musical rhythm
    continuum
    a continuous nonspatial whole or extent or succession in which no part or portion is distinct or distinguishable from adjacent parts
    GMT, Greenwich Mean Time, Greenwich Time, UT, UT1, universal time
    the local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England; it is the same everywhere
    continuance, duration
    the property of enduring or continuing in time
    eternity, infinity
    time without end
    beat, musical rhythm, rhythm
    the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
    now
    the momentary present
    here and now, moment, present moment
    at this time
    date
    the present
    yore
    time long past
    bygone, water under the bridge
    past events to be put aside
    old
    past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')
    history
    the aggregate of past events
    kingdom come
    the end of time
    history
    the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future
    UTC, coordinated universal time
    Greenwich Mean Time updated with leap seconds
    Atlantic Standard Time, Atlantic Time
    standard time in the 4th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 60th meridian; used in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and Bermuda and the Canadian Maritime Provinces
    EST, Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Time
    standard time in the 5th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern United States
    CST, Central Standard Time, Central Time
    standard time in the 6th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 90th meridian; used in the central United States
    MST, Mountain Standard Time, Mountain Time
    standard time in the 7th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 105th meridian west; used in the mountain states of the United States
    PST, Pacific Standard Time, Pacific Time
    standard time in the 8th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 120th meridian west; used in far western states of the United States
    Alaska Standard Time, Yukon Time
    standard time in the 9th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 135th meridian west; used in Hawaii and most of Alaska
    Hawaii Standard Time, Hawaii Time
    standard time in the 10th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 150th meridian west; used in Hawaii and the western Aleutian Islands
    Bering Standard Time, Bering Time
    standard time in the 11th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 165th meridian west; used in the Midway Islands
    nonce, time being
    the present occasion
    circadian rhythm
    a daily cycle of activity observed in many living organisms
    change of life, climacteric, menopause
    the time in a woman's life in which the menstrual cycle ends
    climacteric
    a period in a man's life corresponding to menopause
    sidereal time
    measured by the diurnal motion of stars
    solstice
    either of the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator
    equinox
    either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length
    gestation, gestation period
    the period during which an embryo develops (about 266 days in humans)
    refractory period
    (neurology) the time after a neuron fires or a muscle fiber contracts during which a stimulus will not evoke a response
    aeon, eon
    the longest division of geological time
    alpha and omega
    the first and last; signifies God's eternity
    geological period, period
    a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed
    era, geological era
    a major division of geological time; an era is usually divided into two or more periods
    epoch
    a unit of geological time that is a subdivision of a period and is itself divided into ages
    time immemorial, time out of mind
    the distant past beyond memory
    auld langsyne, good old days, langsyne, old times
    past times remembered with nostalgia
    by-and-by
    an indefinite time in the future
    today
    the present time or age
    tonight
    the present or immediately coming night
    yesterday
    the recent past
    offing
    the near or foreseeable future
    tomorrow
    the near future
    manana
    an indefinite time in the future
    common measure, common time, four-four time, quadruple time
    a time signature indicating four beats to the bar
    duple time
    musical time with two beats in each bar
    triple time
    musical time with three beats in each bar
    pacing, tempo
    (music) the speed at which a composition is to be played
    in time
    in the correct rhythm
    type of:
    attribute
    an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity
  2. noun
    the fourth coordinate that is required (along with three spatial dimensions) to specify a physical event
    synonyms: fourth dimension
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    type of:
    dimension
    the magnitude of something in a particular direction (especially length or width or height)
  3. noun
    an indefinite period (usually marked by specific attributes or activities)
    “he waited a long time”
    “the time of year for planting”
    “he was a great actor in his time”
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    day
    some point or period in time
    dead
    a time when coldness (or some other quality associated with death) is intense
    hard times
    a time of difficulty
    incarnation
    time passed in a particular bodily form
    wee
    a short time
    bout, patch, piece, spell, while
    a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition
    bit, minute, mo, moment, second
    an indefinitely short time
    ephemera
    something transitory; lasting a day
    space age
    the age beginning with the first space travel; from 1957 to the present
    Day of Judgement, Day of Judgment, Doomsday, Judgement Day, Judgment Day, Last Day, Last Judgement, Last Judgment, crack of doom, day of reckoning, doomsday, end of the world, eschaton
    (New Testament) day at the end of time following Armageddon when God will decree the fates of all individual humans according to the good and evil of their earthly lives
    off-day
    a day when things go poorly
    cold snap, cold spell
    a spell of cold weather
    hot spell
    a spell of hot weather
    New York minute, blink of an eye, flash, heartbeat, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling, wink
    a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
    snap
    a spell of cold weather
    type of:
    period, period of time, time period
    an amount of time
  4. noun
    an instance or single occasion for some event
    “this time he succeeded”
    “he called four times”
    synonyms: clip
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    type of:
    case, example, instance
    an occurrence of something
  5. noun
    a period of time considered as a resource under your control and sufficient to accomplish something
    “take time to smell the roses”
    “I didn't have time to finish”
    “it took more than half my time”
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    type of:
    period, period of time, time period
    an amount of time
  6. noun
    the period of time a prisoner is imprisoned
    “he is doing time in the county jail”
    synonyms: prison term, sentence
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    types:
    hard time
    a term served in a maximum security prison
    life, life sentence
    a prison term lasting as long as the prisoner lives
    type of:
    term
    a limited period of time
  7. verb
    measure the time or duration of an event or action or the person who performs an action in a certain period of time
    synonyms: clock
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    types:
    mistime
    time incorrectly
    type of:
    measure, quantify
    express as a number or measure or quantity
  8. verb
    set the speed, duration, or execution of
    “we time the process to manufacture our cars very precisely”
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    type of:
    determine, influence, mold, regulate, shape
    shape or influence; give direction to
  9. verb
    adjust so that a force is applied and an action occurs at the desired time
    “The good player times his swing so as to hit the ball squarely”
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    type of:
    adjust, correct, set
    alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard
  10. verb
    assign a time for an activity or event
    “The candidate carefully timed his appearance at the disaster scene”
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    type of:
    schedule
    plan for an activity or event
  11. noun
    a reading of a point in time as given by a clock
    “do you know what time it is?”
    “the time is 10 o'clock”
    synonyms: clock time
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    SCLK, spacecraft clock time
    the clock time given by a clock carried on board a spacecraft
    prime time
    the hours between 7 and 11 p.m. when the largest tv audience is available
    hour, time of day
    clock time
    high noon, midday, noon, noonday, noontide, twelve noon
    the middle of the day
    mealtime
    the hour at which a meal is habitually or customarily eaten
    late-night hour
    the latter part of night
    midnight
    12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
    small hours
    the hours just after midnight
    bedtime
    the time you go to bed
    closing time
    the regular time of day when an establishment closes to the public
    aurora, break of day, break of the day, cockcrow, dawn, dawning, daybreak, dayspring, first light, morning, sunrise, sunup
    the first light of day
    early-morning hour
    an hour early in the morning
    sundown, sunset
    the time in the evening at which the sun begins to fall below the horizon
    crepuscle, crepuscule, dusk, evenfall, fall, gloam, gloaming, nightfall, twilight
    the time of day immediately following sunset
    none
    a canonical hour that is the ninth hour of the day counting from sunrise
    happy hour
    the time of day when a bar sells alcoholic drinks at a reduced price
    rush hour
    the times at the beginning and end of the working day when many people are traveling to or from work
    zero hour
    the time set for the start of an action or operation
    canonical hour
    (Roman Catholic Church) one of seven specified times for prayer
    type of:
    indication, meter reading, reading
    a datum about some physical state that is presented to a user by a meter or similar instrument
  12. noun
    a suitable moment
    “it is time to go”
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    high time
    the latest possible moment
    occasion
    the time of a particular event
    meal
    any of the occasions for eating food that occur by custom or habit at more or less fixed times
    type of:
    instant, minute, moment, second
    a particular point in time
  13. verb
    regulate or set the time of
    “time the clock”
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    type of:
    adjust, correct, set
    alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard
  14. noun
    a person's experience on a particular occasion
    “he had a time holding back the tears”
    “they had a good time together”
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    type of:
    experience
    an event as apprehended
  15. noun
    rhythm as given by division into parts of equal duration
    synonyms: meter, metre
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    type of:
    rhythmicity
    the rhythmic property imparted by the accents and relative durations of notes in a piece of music
Pronunciation
US
/taɪm/
UK
/taɪm/
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