time-out
UK/ˈtaɪm.aʊt/
time-out noun: a short break in the action of a sport, for substitution, consultation, etc.
Noun
time-out (plural time-outs)
- A short break in the action of a sport, for substitution, consultation, etc.
- We're being beaten! We need a time-out!
- A break from a tense, heated or stressful situation (often enforced, sometimes as a disciplinary measure); a cooling-off period.
- I'm going to take a brief time-out from this job.
- Hitting people is not acceptable! Go to your room and take a time-out!
- A perhaps temporary break in a relationship.
- The abortion of an incomplete task after a time limit considered long enough for it to end normally.
time-out meaning in Arabic
time-out in Arabic
- in sports
- وَقْت مُسْتَقْطَع waqt mustaqṭaʕ
Forms of time-out
| plural | time-outs |
|---|---|
| alternative form | timeout |
Origin of time-out
From time + out.
Questions about time-out
- What does time-out mean?
- Time-out means a short break in the action of a sport, for substitution, consultation, etc.
- What is time-out in Arabic?
- Time-out in Arabic is وَقْت مُسْتَقْطَع (waqt mustaqṭaʕ). See Time-out meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is time-out?
- Time-out is a noun.
- How do you pronounce time-out?
- Time-out is pronounced /ˈtaɪm.aʊt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of time-out?
- The plural of time-out is time-outs.
Words near time-out in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: time-out (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-time-out.ogg.
Cite this entry: “time-out.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/time-out. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.