Word.ws English Dictionary

time stands still

time stands still phrase: used to emphasize a moment in time that is either catastrophic or even enjoyable in which one's sense of time is frozen or suspended.

Phrase

time stands still

  1. Used to emphasize a moment in time that is either catastrophic or even enjoyable in which one's sense of time is frozen or suspended.
    • Life without love is load; and time stands still; what we refuse to him, to Death we give, And then, then only, when we love, we live.1735, William Congreve, Plays ... In two volumes, page 39
    • Each long moment seems a day, time stands still, when she's away.1741, Mr. Theobald (Lewis), The Happy Captive, An English Opera
  2. Used to state that something, especially a place, has an archaic, anachronistic or historic feeling.
    • […] unconsciously and innocently succumb to the timeless paganism of a country where time stands still and the ancient ways of humanity know nothing about stock markets and finance capitalism.1957, The Peabody Reflector
    • Travel by luxurious jet to a town where time stands still and the houses are festooned with bright streamers for the ancient Summer Star festival. Stay in a 17th-century ryokan (inn) and enjoy ham and eggs for breakfast.1972, The New Yorker

Examples of time stands still in a sentence

  • When one event is continuous, time stands still; for we form no idea of time by the presence or continuance of a single event but we do so by the change of other events at the time.1828, Abner Kneeland (contributor), The Olive Branch and Christian Inquirer:
  • Every year since this bicentennial event, the batteaux have raced from Lynchburg to Richmond, easily slipping from one century back into another for a few glorious days when time stands still.2004, Clifton W. Potter, Dorothy Bundy Turner Potter, Lynchburg: A City Set on Seven Hills, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 148:
  • Time stands still in this quiet little spot, with its quaint old-fashioned decor, swathes of lace and brown table linen.2011 July 8, Time Out Guides Ltd, Time Out Barcelona 14th edition, Random House, →ISBN:
  • I need a small Tuscan village where time stands still, where creativity can unfurl and my own soul can breathe.2024 March 5, Angela Correll, Restored in Tuscany: A True Story of Facing Loss, Finding Beauty, and Living Forward in Hope, Harvest House...

Questions about time stands still

What does time stands still mean?
Time stands still means used to emphasize a moment in time that is either catastrophic or even enjoyable in which one's sense of time is frozen or suspended.
How do you use time stands still in a sentence?
When one event is continuous, time stands still; for we form no idea of time by the presence or continuance of a single event but we do so by the change of other events at the time.
What part of speech is time stands still?
Time stands still is a phrase.

Words near time stands still in the dictionary

  1. time stamped
  2. time stamping
  3. time stamps
  4. time standard
  5. time standards
  6. time stands still
  7. time step
  8. time steps
  9. time stop
  10. time stream
  11. time streams

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: time stands still (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.

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