time

Noun

time (countable and uncountable, plural times)

1. (uncountable) The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
   • Time stops for nobody. the ebb and flow of time
   • Time is the fire in which we burn.1937, Delmore Schwartz, Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day
   1. (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. (uncountable, usually) 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.
      • 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!1895 May 29, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, The Time Machine: An Invention, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 31
   3. (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.
      • 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?1992, Roger Highfield, Peter Coveney, Arrow of Time, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 179
   4. (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.
2. (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.
3. (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.
4. (slang, uncountable) 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.
5. (countable) An experience.
   • We had a wonderful time at the party.
6. (countable) An era; (articulated, sometimes in the plural) the current era, the current state of affairs.
   • Roman times
   • the time of the dinosaurs
7. (uncountable) A person's youth or young adulthood, as opposed to the present day.
   • In my time, we respected our elders.
8. (figuratively, singular) Time out; temporary, limited suspension of play.
9. (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?
10. (countable) A particular moment or hour; the appropriate moment or hour for something (especially with prepositional phrase or imperfect subjunctive).
    • it’s time for (you to go to) bed; it’s time to sleep; we must wait for the right time; it's time we were going
    • 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.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
11. (countable) A numerical indication of a particular moment.
    • At what times do the trains arrive?
    • These times were erroneously converted between zones
12. (countable) An instance or occurrence.
    • one more time
    • When was the last time we went out? I don’t remember.

    Synonyms:

    instant, juncture, minute, moment, occasion, point in time, sith

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.

   Synonyms:

   set

3. (obsolete) To keep or beat time; to proceed or move in time.
   • With oar strokes timing to their song.1861, John Greenleaf Whittier, At Port Royal
4. (obsolete) To pass time; to delay.
5. To regulate as to time; to accompany, or agree with, in time of movement.
   • Who overlooked the oars, and timed the stroke.1717, Joseph Addison, Metamorphoses
   • He was a thing of blood, whose every motion / Was timed with dying cries.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]...
6. To measure, as in music or harmony.

   Synonyms:

   clock

Interjection

1. 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.
   • Time gentlemen please!