Word.ws English Dictionary

when the music stops

when the music stops adverb: at the moment when a period of activity, or excitement ends, forcing a sometimes uncomfortable return to reality.

Adverb

when the music stops (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic) At the moment when a period of activity, or excitement ends, forcing a sometimes uncomfortable return to reality.
    • I hate when my teacher makes us pick groups for projects. It's always so awkward for me when the music stops

Questions about when the music stops

What does when the music stops mean?
When the music stops means at the moment when a period of activity, or excitement ends, forcing a sometimes uncomfortable return to reality.
What part of speech is when the music stops?
When the music stops is an adverb.

Words near when the music stops in the dictionary

  1. when the cat's away the mice will play
  2. when the chips are down
  3. when the going gets tough, the tough get going
  4. when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
  5. when the looting starts, the shooting starts
  6. when the music stops
  7. when the time comes
  8. when they go low, we go high
  9. when they go low, we go lower
  10. when they go low, we go submarine
  11. when two Fridays come together

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: when the music stops (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:

Cite this entry: “when the music stops.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/when_the_music_stops. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.