time

Alternative forms

• tyme (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English tyme, time, from Old English tīma (“time, period, space of time, season, lifetime, fixed time, favorable time, opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīmō, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- (“to divide”). Related to tide. Not related directly to Latin tempus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: tīm, IPA^(key): /taɪm/, [tʰaɪ̯m]

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /tɑɪm/, [tʰɑe̯m]
• (Local Dublin) IPA^(key): /təɪm/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /taɪm/
  • (Dialectal) IPA^(key): /tʌɪm/, [təi̯m]
• Homophone: thyme
• Rhymes: -aɪm

Noun

time (countable and uncountable, plural times)

1. (uncountable) The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:time

   Time stops for nobody.   the ebb and flow of time

   • 1937, Delmore Schwartz, Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day‎:

     Time is the fire in which we burn.

   • 2023 May 26, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 0:40 from the start, in Zelenskyy surprises the Johns Hopkins commencement ceremony‎, MSNBC, archived from the original on 2023-05-26:

     One of the most common truisms on Earth is the advice to value or at least not waste time. Why has it become so widespread? Every person eventually realizes that time is the most valuable resource on the planet. Not oil or uranium. Not lithium or anything else, but time. Time. The very flow of time convinces us of this. Some people realize this sooner, and these are the lucky ones. Others realize it too late when they lose someone or something. People cannot avoid it, this is just a matter of time. But there is a fundamental difference that comes down to the question of time. The time of your life is under your control. The time of life of our force on the front line, the time of life of all Ukrainians who are forced to live through this terrible Russian aggression unfortunately is subject to many factors that are not all in their control. I do not wish anyone to feel like they are in my shoes, and it's impossible to give a manual on how to go through life so as not to waste time. However, one piece of advice always works. You have to know exactly why you need today and how you want your tomorrows to look like.

   1. (physics, usually uncountable) A dimension of spacetime with the opposite metric signature to space dimensions; the fourth dimension.

      Both science-fiction writers and physicists have written about travel through time.

      • 1895 May 7, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, The Time Machine: An Invention, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 35:

        So long as I travelled at a high velocity through time, this scarcely mattered; I was, so to speak, attenuated — was slipping like a vapour through the interstices of intervening substances!

      • 2010, Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 204:

        We all have a visceral understanding of what it means for the universe to have multiple space dimensions, since we live in a world in which we constantly deal with a plurality — three. But what would it mean to have multiple times? Would one align with time as we presently experience it psychologically while the other would somehow be "different"?

   2. (physics, uncountable) Change associated with the second law of thermodynamics; the physical and psychological result of increasing entropy.

      Time slows down when you approach the speed of light.

      • 2012, Robert Zwilling, Natural Sciences and Human Thought, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 80:

        Eventually time would also die because no processes would continue, no light would flow.

      • 2015, Highfield, Arrow Of Time, Random House →ISBN

        Given the connection between increasing entropy and the arrow of time, does the Big Crunch mean that time would run backwards as soon as collapse began?

   3. (physics, uncountable, reductionist definition) The property of a system which allows it to have more than one distinct configuration.

      An essential definition of time should entail neither speed nor direction, just change.

   4. (uncountable) The feeling of the passage of events and their relative duration, as experienced by an individual.

      Time flies when you're having fun.

2. A duration of time.
   1. (uncountable) A quantity of availability of duration.

      More time is needed to complete the project.   You had plenty of time, but you waited until the last minute.   Are you finished yet? Time’s up!

      • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond‎:

        During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]

      • 2021, Lisa Miller, The Awakened Brain, Ch.2, at p.37:

        The teacher greeted us and moved methodically through the room, placing an object on each student's desk. It was a thin book―a spiral-bound planner. She strode to the front of the room. "If you want to succeed," she said, her syllables clear and careful, "you must learn to manage your time."

   2. (countable) A measurement of a quantity of time; a numerical or general indication of a length of progression.

      a long time;  Record the individual times for the processes in each batch.   Only your best time is compared with the other competitors.   The algorithm runs in O(n²) time.

      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

        I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.

      • 1938, Richard Hughes, In Hazard:

        The shock of the water, of course, woke him, and he swam for quite a time.

   3. (uncountable, slang) The serving of a prison sentence.

      The judge leniently granted a sentence with no hard time.   He is not living at home because he is doing time.

      • 1994, Dana Stabenow, A Cold-Blooded Business, →ISBN, page 64:

        Arrested on duty at Fort Richardson, both parents had worked hard at blaming the other for their son's death, but Kate's meticulous recording of the detail of the bruising found on the child's body and the physical evidence surrounding the scene, plus patient, painstaking interviews with neighbors above and below stairs had resulted in time for both.

      • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 108:

        "Ain't gone be no Rikers Island for you next time," I warned him. "You get tapped on another gun charge and you looking at some upstate time."

   4. (countable) An experience.

      We had a wonderful time at the party.

      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

        I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.

   6. (countable) An era; (with the, sometimes in the plural) the current era, the current state of affairs.

      Roman times;  the time of the dinosaurs;  how things were at that time;  how things were in those times

      • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

        The time is out of joint

      • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Eden Prime:

        Dr. Manuel: You're wasting your time. The age of humanity is over. Our extinction is inevitable.[...]
        Shepard: I don't have time for this.
        Dr. Manuel: Time? Our time is over.

   7. (uncountable, with possessive) A person's youth or young adulthood, as opposed to the present day.

      In my time, we respected our elders.

   8. (only in singular, sports and figuratively) Time out; temporary, limited suspension of play.
3. An instant of time.
   1. (uncountable) The duration of time of a given day that has passed; the moment, as indicated by a clock or similar device.

      Excuse me, have you got the time?   What time is it, do you guess? Ten o’clock?   A computer keeps time using a clock battery.

      • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:

        Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

   2. (countable) A particular moment or hour; the appropriate moment or hour for something (especially with prepositional phrase or imperfect subjunctive).

      it’s time for bed;  it’s time to sleep;  we must wait for the right time;  it's time we were going

      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

        The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.

      • 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:

        It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today – with America standing out in the forefront and the UK not far behind.

   3. (countable) A numerical indication of a particular moment.

      at what times do the trains arrive?;  these times were erroneously converted between zones

   5. (countable) An instance or occurrence.

      Synonyms: instant, juncture; see also Thesaurus:point in time

      When was the last time we went out? I don’t remember.

      see you another time;  that’s three times he’s made the same mistake

      Okay, but this is the last time. No more after that!

      • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:

        Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.

      • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

        One more time.

        Audio (US):

        (file)

   6. (UK, in public houses) Closing time.

      Last call: it's almost time.

   7. The hour of childbirth.
      • 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

        She was within little more than one month of her time.

   8. (as someone's time) The end of someone's life, conceived by the speaker as having been predestined.

      It was his time.

4. (countable) The measurement under some system of region of day or moment.

   Let's synchronize our watches so we're not on different time.

5. (countable) A ratio of comparison.

   your car runs three times faster than mine;  that is four times as heavy as this

6. (music, uncountable) The measured duration of sounds.

   (dated) dance time;   march time (see usage notes)

   2. (uncountable) Tempo; a measured rate of movement.

      The musician keeps good time.

      • 1619–1620, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The False One. A Tragedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act I, scene ii:

        some few lines set unto a solemn time

   4. (uncountable) Rhythmical division, meter.

      common or triple time;   time signature

   5. (jazz) (uncountable) A straight rhythmic pattern, free from fills, breaks and other embellishments.

      After the introduction, the drummer is to play time.

7. (grammar, obsolete) A tense.

   the time of a verb

   • 1823, Lindley Murray, Key to the Exercises Adapted to Murray's English Grammar, Fortland, page 53f:

     Though we have, in the notes under the thirteenth rule of the Grammar, explained in general the principles, on which the time of a verb in the infinitive mood may be ascertained, and its form determined; [...]

   • 1829, Benjamin A. Gould, Adam's Latin Grammar, Boston, page 153:

     The participles of the future time active, and perfect passive, when joined with the verb esse, were sometimes used as indeclinable; thus, [...]

8. (slang, MLE) Clipping of a long time.
   • 2019 September 15, “Wiley Flow” (track 12), in Heavy Is The Head‎, performed by Stormzy:

     I used to pay for things but that was time ago.

   • 2022 March 18, Ronan Bennett, Gerry Jackson, Tyrone Rashard, Sagirah Gammon, 00:38:33 from the start, in Brady Hood, director, Top Boy(Good Morals) (4), episode 1 (TV), spoken by girl called B:

     Ats' mum is looking for him, says he ain't been back in time

   • 2023 January 15, Layton Williams, 12:51 from the start, in Freddy Syborn, director, Bad Education(Prison) (4), episode 3 (TV), spoken by Inchez (Anthony J. Abraham):

     INCHEZ:Man this is long! We've been in here for time!

   Synonyms: ages, long

Verb

time (third-person singular simple present times, present participle timing, simple past and past participle timed)

1. (transitive) To measure or record the time, duration, or rate of something.

   I used a stopwatch to time myself running around the block.

2. (transitive) To choose when something commences or its duration.

   The President timed his speech badly, coinciding with the Super Bowl.

   The bomb was timed to explode at 9:20 p.m.

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the chapter)”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     There is surely no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things.

3. (obsolete) To keep or beat time; to proceed or move in time.
   • 1861, John Greenleaf Whittier, At Port Royal:

     With oar strokes timing to their song.

4. (obsolete) To pass time; to delay.
5. To regulate as to time; to accompany, or agree with, in time of movement.
   • 1717, Joseph Addison, Metamorphoses:

     Who overlooked the oars, and timed the stroke.

   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     He was a thing of blood, whose every motion / Was timed with dying cries.

6. To measure, as in music or harmony.

Interjection

time

1. (tennis) Reminder by the umpire for the players to continue playing after their pause.
2. The umpire's call in prizefights, etc.
3. A call by a bartender to warn patrons that the establishment is closing and no more drinks will be served.

See also

• calendar
• temporal
• Timese

References

• time on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• Time in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
• Time (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• item, METI, Item, EMT-I, it me, emit, Mite, mite

Etymology 1

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), cognate with Swedish timme, English time. From Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-, specifically Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō. The Germanic noun *tīdiz (“time”) is derived from the same root.