the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another.

duration regarded as belonging to the present life as distinct from the life to come or from eternity; finite duration.

( sometimes initial capital letter ) a system or method of measuring or reckoning the passage of time

mean time; apparent time; Greenwich Time.

a limited period or interval, as between two successive events

a long time.

a particular period considered as distinct from other periods

Youth is the best time of life.

Often, times.

a period in the history of the world, or contemporary with the life or activities of a notable person

prehistoric times; in Lincoln's time.

the period or era now or previously present

a sign of the times; How times have changed!

a period considered with reference to its events or prevailing conditions, tendencies, ideas, etc.

hard times; a time of war.

a prescribed or allotted period, as of one's life, for payment of a debt, etc.

the end of a prescribed or allotted period, as of one's life or a pregnancy

His time had come, but there was no one left to mourn over him. When her time came, her husband accompanied her to the delivery room.

a period with reference to personal experience of a specified kind

to have a good time; a hot time in the old town tonight.

a period of work of an employee, or the pay for it; working hours or days or an hourly or daily pay rate.

Informal . a term of enforced duty or imprisonment

to serve time in the army; do time in prison.

the period necessary for or occupied by something

The time of the baseball game was two hours and two minutes. The bus takes too much time, so I'll take a plane.

leisure time; sufficient or spare time

to have time for a vacation; I have no time to stop now.

a particular or definite point in time, as indicated by a clock

What time is it?

a particular part of a year, day, etc.; season or period

It's time for lunch.

an appointed, fit, due, or proper instant or period

a time for sowing; the time when the sun crosses the meridian; There is a time for everything.

the particular point in time when an event is scheduled to take place

train time; curtain time.

an indefinite, frequently prolonged period or duration in the future

Time will tell if what we have done here today was right.

the right occasion or opportunity

to watch one's time.

each occasion of a recurring action or event

to do a thing five times; It's the pitcher's time at bat.

times, used as a multiplicative word in phrasal combinations expressing how many instances of a quantity or factor are taken together

Two goes into six three times; five times faster.

Drama . one of the three unities. Compare unity ( def. 8 ) .

Prosody . a unit or a group of units in the measurement of meter.

Music .

tempo; relative rapidity of movement.

the metrical duration of a note or rest.

proper or characteristic tempo.

the general movement of a particular kind of musical composition with reference to its rhythm, metrical structure, and tempo.

the movement of a dance or the like to music so arranged

waltz time.

Military . rate of marching, calculated on the number of paces taken per minute

double time; quick time.

Manège . each completed action or movement of the horse.

of, pertaining to, or showing the passage of time.

(of an explosive device) containing a clock so that it will detonate at the desired moment

a time bomb.

Commerce . payable at a stated period of time after presentment

time drafts or notes.

of or pertaining to purchases on the installment plan, or with payment postponed.

to measure or record the speed, duration, or rate of

to time a race.

to fix the duration of

The proctor timed the test at 15 minutes.

to fix the interval between (actions, events, etc.)

They timed their strokes at six per minute.

to regulate (a train, clock, etc.) as to time.

to appoint or choose the moment or occasion for; schedule

He timed the attack perfectly.

to keep time; sound or move in unison. ?

against time

in an effort to finish something within a limited period

We worked against time to get out the newspaper.

ahead of time

before the time due; early

The building was completed ahead of time.

at one time

once; in a former time

At one time they owned a restaurant.

at the same time; at once

They all tried to talk at one time.

at the same time

nevertheless; yet

I'd like to try it, but at the same time I'm a little afraid.

at times

at intervals; occasionally

At times the city becomes intolerable.

beat someone's time

Slang . to compete for or win a person being dated or courted by another; prevail over a rival

He accused me, his own brother, of trying to beat his time.

behind the times

old-fashioned; dated

These attitudes are behind the times.

for the time being

temporarily; for the present

Let's forget about it for the time being.

from time to time

on occasion; occasionally; at intervals

She comes to see us from time to time.

gain time

to postpone in order to make preparations or gain an advantage; delay the outcome of

He hoped to gain time by putting off signing the papers for a few days more.

in good time

at the right time; on time; punctually.

in advance of the right time; early

We arrived at the appointed spot in good time.

in no time

in a very brief time; almost at once

Working together, they cleaned the entire house in no time.

in time

early enough

to come in time for dinner.

in the future; eventually

In time he'll see what is right.

in the correct rhythm or tempo

There would always be at least one child who couldn't play in time with the music.

keep time

to record time, as a watch or clock does.

to mark or observe the tempo.

to perform rhythmic movements in unison.

kill time

to occupy oneself with some activity to make time pass quickly

While I was waiting, I killed time counting the cars on the freight trains.

make time

to move quickly, esp. in an attempt to recover lost time.

to travel at a particular speed.

make time with

Slang . to pursue or take as a sexual partner.

many a time

again and again; frequently

Many a time they didn't have enough to eat and went to bed hungry.

mark time

to suspend progress temporarily, as to await developments; fail to advance.

Military . to move the feet alternately as in marching, but without advancing.

on one's own time

during one's free time; without payment

He worked out more efficient production methods on his own time.

on time

at the specified time; punctually.

to be paid for within a designated period of time, as in installments

Many people are never out of debt because they buy everything on time.

out of time

not in the proper rhythm

His singing was out of time with the music.

pass the time of day

to converse briefly with or greet someone

The women would stop in the market to pass the time of day.

take one's time

to be slow or leisurely; dawdle

Speed was important here, but he just took his time.

time after time

again and again; repeatedly; often

I've told him time after time not to slam the door.

time and time again

repeatedly; often

Time and time again I warned her to stop smoking. Also, time and again.

time of life

(one's) age

At your time of life you must be careful not to overdo things.

time of one's life

Informal . an extremely enjoyable experience

They had the time of their lives on their trip to Europe.