time

English Online Dictionary. What means time‎? What does time mean?

English

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]
• (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

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

   2. (physics, usually uncountable) A dimension of spacetime with the opposite metric signature to space dimensions; the fourth dimension.
   3. (physics, uncountable) Change associated with the second law of thermodynamics; the physical and psychological result of increasing entropy.
      • 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?

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

2. A duration of time.
   1. (uncountable) A quantity of availability of duration.
      • 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.
   3. (uncountable, slang) The serving of a prison sentence.
   4. (countable) An experience.
   6. (countable) An era; (with the, sometimes in the plural) the current era, the current state of affairs.
   7. (uncountable, with possessive) A person's youth or young adulthood, as opposed to the present day.

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

   5. (countable) An instance or occurrence.

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

      • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

        One more time.

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

   7. The hour of childbirth.
   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.

5. (countable) A ratio of comparison (see also usage notes and prepositional sense at 'times').

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

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

   2. (uncountable) Tempo; a measured rate of movement.
   4. (uncountable) Rhythmical division, meter.

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

7. (grammar, obsolete) A tense.
8. (slang, MLE) Clipping of a long time.

   Synonyms: ages, long

Usage notes

• For the number of occurrences and the ratio of comparison, once and twice are typically used instead of one time and two times. Thrice is uncommon in American English and British English but is still common in Asian English, for example in India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
• (music): The distinction between time as tempo (sense 6.1) and time as meter (sense 6.2) is relatively modern. The dated expression "march time" refers equally to the tempo of a march as it does to the use of 2/4 or 4/4 meter.
• Ratio usage with comparatives, such as "you earn three times more than me", though common, is strictly illogical. More correctly: "you earn three times as much as me".

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Collocations

Typical collocations with time or time expressions.

• spend - To talk about the length of time of an activity.

- We spent a long time driving along the motorway.

- I've spent most of my life working here. (Time expression)

• take - To talk about the length of time of an activity.

- It took a long time to get to the front of the queue. See also - take one's time

- It only takes five minutes to get to the shop from here. (Time expression)

- How long does it take to do that? (Time expression)

• waste - see waste time

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: ten
• → Punjabi: ṭāim, ṭaim, ṭāīm

  Gurmukhi script: ਟਾਇਮ, ਟੈਮ, ਟਾਈਮ

  Shahmukhi script: ٹائم, ٹیم, ٹائیم

Translations

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.

2. (transitive) To choose when something commences or its duration.
3. (obsolete) To keep or beat time; to proceed or move in time.
4. (obsolete) To pass time; to delay.
5. To regulate as to time; to accompany, or agree with, in time of movement.
6. To measure, as in music or harmony.

Synonyms

• (to measure time): clock
• (to choose the time for): set

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

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

Danish

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtiːmə/, [ˈtˢiːmə], [ˈtsʰiːm̩]

Noun

time c (singular definite timen, plural indefinite timer)

1. hour
2. lesson, class

Declension

References

• “time,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English time.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tajmə/, [ˈtˢɑjmə], (imperative) IPA^(key): /tajˀm/, [ˈtˢɑjˀm]

Verb

time (past tense timede, past participle timet)

1. to time

Conjugation

References

• “time,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

Esperanto

Etymology

From tim- +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtime/
• Rhymes: -ime
• Hyphenation: ti‧me

Adverb

time

1. fearfully

Latin

Verb

timē

1. second-person singular present active imperative of timeō

References

• “time”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

time

1. Alternative form of tyme (“time”)

Etymology 2

Noun

time

1. Alternative form of tyme (“thyme”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-, specifically Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō.

Noun

time m (definite singular timen, indefinite plural timer, definite plural timene)

1. an hour

2. a lesson, class

3. an appointment

   Jeg har en time hos tannlegen. ― I have an appointment at the dentists.

Derived terms

References

• “time” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from *deh₂y- (“to share, divide”). Akin to English time.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²tiːmə/

Noun

time m (definite singular timen, indefinite plural timar, definite plural timane)

1. an hour
2. a lesson, class
3. an appointment

   Eg har ein time hjå tannlegen. ― I have an appointment at the dentists.

4. time, moment (mainly poetic)

Derived terms

References

• “time” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse tími, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô.

Noun

tīme m

1. time
2. hour
3. occasion

Declension

Descendants

• Swedish: timme
• → Finnish: tiima

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English team.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ti‧me

Noun

time m (plural times)

1. (Brazil, chiefly sports) a team

   Synonyms: (Portugal) equipa, (Brazil) equipe

2. (Brazil, corporate slang, proscribed) a corporate team

   Synonym: equipe

3. (Brazil, informal) sexual orientation

Scots

Noun

time (plural times)

1. time

Serbo-Croatian

Pronoun

tíme (Cyrillic spelling ти́ме)

1. masculine/neuter instrumental singular of tȃj

Spanish

Verb

time

1. inflection of timar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative