time

Etymology

From Middle English tyme, time, from Old English tīma (“time, period, space of time, season, lifetime, fixed time, favourable time, opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīmō, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- (“to divide”). Cognate with Scots tym, tyme (“time”), Alemannic German Zimen, Zīmmän (“time, time of the year, opportune time, opportunity”), Danish time (“hour, lesson”), Swedish timme (“hour”), Norwegian time (“time, hour”), Faroese tími (“hour, lesson, time”), Icelandic tími (“time, season”). Related to tide. Not related to Latin tempus.

noun

1. (uncountable) The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.
   1. (physics, usually uncountable) 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.
      We all have a visceral understanding of what it means for the universe to have multiple space dimensions, since we live in a world in which we constantly deal with a plurality — three. But what would it mean to have multiple times? Would one align with time as we presently experience it psychologically while the other would somehow be "different"? 2010, Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, W. W. Norton & Company, page 204
   2. (physics, 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.
      Eventually time would also die because no processes would continue, no light would flow. 2012, Robert Zwilling, Natural Sciences and Human Thought, Springer Science & Business Media, page 80
      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?
   3. (physics, 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. A duration of time.
   1. (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. Are you finished yet? Time’s up!
      During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…] 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
   2. (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. Only your best time is compared with the other competitors. The algorithm runs in O(n²) time.
      The shock of the water, of course, woke him, and he swam for quite a time. 1938, Richard Hughes, In Hazard
   3. (uncountable, slang) 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.
      Arrested on duty at Fort Richardson, both parents had worked hard at blaming the other for their son's death, but Kate's meticulous recording of the detail of the bruising found on the child's body and the physical evidence surrounding the scene, plus patient, painstaking interviews with neighbors above and below stairs had resulted in time for both. 1994, Dana Stabenow, A Cold-Blooded Business, page 64
   4. (countable) An experience.
      We had a wonderful time at the party.
   5. (countable) An era; (with the, sometimes in plural) the current era, the current state of affairs.
      Roman times; the time of the dinosaurs; how things were at that time; how things were in those times
      O the times, O the customs! 63 BC,, First Oration against Catiline (translation)
      Dr. Manuel: You're wasting your time. The age of humanity is over. Our extinction is inevitable.… Shepard: I don't have time for this. Dr. Manuel: Time? Our time is over. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Eden Prime
   6. (uncountable, with possessive) A person's youth or young adulthood, as opposed to the present day.
      In my time, we respected our elders.
   7. (only in singular, sports and figurative) Time out; temporary, limited suspension of play.
3. An instant of time.
   1. (uncountable) How much of a day 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? A computer keeps time using a clock battery.
      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found. 2013-07-19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34
   2. (countable) A particular moment or hour; the appropriate moment or hour for something (especially with prepositional phrase or imperfect subjunctive).
      it’s time for bed; it’s time to sleep; we must wait for the right time; it's time we were going
      It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today – with America standing out in the forefront and the UK not far behind. 2013-06-07, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19
   3. (countable) A numerical indication of a particular moment.
      at what times do the trains arrive?; these times were erroneously converted between zones
   4. (countable) An instance or occurrence.
      When was the last time we went out? I don’t remember.
      see you another time; that’s three times he’s made the same mistake
      Okay, but this is the last time. No more after that!
      Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines. 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity
      One more time. Audio (US) (file) 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
   5. (UK, in public houses) Closing time.
      Last call: it's almost time.
   6. The hour of childbirth.
   7. (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.
   Let's synchronize our watches so we're not on different time.
5. (countable) Ratio of comparison.
   your car runs three times faster than mine; that is four times as heavy as this
6. (grammar, dated) Tense.
   the time of a verb
   Though we have, in the notes under the thirteenth rule of the Grammar, explained in general the principles, on which the time of a verb in the infinitive mood may be ascertained, and its form determined; … 1823, Lindley Murray, Key to the Exercises Adapted to Murray's English Grammar, Fortland, page 53f
   The participles of the future time active, and perfect passive, when joined with the verb esse, were sometimes used as indeclinable; thus, … 1829, Benjamin A. Gould, Adam's Latin Grammar, Boston, page 153
7. (music) The measured duration of sounds; measure; tempo; rate of movement; rhythmical division.
   common or triple time; the musician keeps good time.
8. (slang, MLE) Clipping of a long time.
   I used to pay for things but that was time ago. 2019-09-15, “Wiley Flow” (track 12), in Heavy Is The Head, performed by Stormzy
   Ats' mum is looking for him, says he ain't been back in time 2022-03-18, Ronan Bennett, Gerry Jackson, Tyrone Rashard, Sagirah Gammon, 00:38:33 from the start, in Brady Hood, director, Top Boy(Good Morals) (4), episode 1 (TV), spoken by girl called B
   INCHEZ:Man this is long! We've been in here for time! 2023-01-15, Layton Williams, 12:51 from the start, in Freddy Syborn, director, Bad Education(Prison) (4), episode 3 (TV), spoken by Inchez (Anthony J. Abraham)

verb

1. To measure or record the time, duration, or rate of.
   I used a stopwatch to time myself running around the block.
2. To choose when something begins or how long it lasts.
   The President timed his speech badly, coinciding with the Super Bowl.
   The bomb was timed to explode at 9:20 p.m.
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
6. To measure, as in music or harmony.

intj

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.