Idioms about Time: Idioms are small sentences or excerpts from longer ones, which have been taken in order to be used metaphorically, or in simpler words, to denote something other than its literal meaning.
The subject of most idioms has been derived from everyday life, be it some animal around us or a body part or an abstract or untouchable thing.
Hence idioms can be categorized as per its subject. Here in this specific article, we are going to discuss about some idioms, the subject of which is something that waits for no one. Time phrases and idioms are extensively used in our everyday life.
Time is something without which everything will come to a stop; hence it has been considered to have many manifestations. So, time idioms can be categorized based on these different manifestations.
There is time has been considered as a human, there are idioms about time passing, there are idioms for waiting patiently, idioms for good times and bad times, etc.
Enrich your Vocabulary by practicing the English Idioms that are commonly used in everyday conversations and understand their actual meaning.
A thorough study and understanding of time idioms and phrases give us an idea of cross-cultural similarities and differences in the way the Head has been conceptualized. A list of idioms on time with meanings are given below:
Names of Time Idioms
List of Time Idioms
- Around the clock
- Behind the times
- Ahead of time
- Call it a day / night
- A month of Sundays
- Dwell on the past
- Against the clock
- Call time
- Better late than never
- Days are numbered
- Don’t know whether to wind a watch or bark at the moon
- Eleventh hour
- Carry the day
- Time flies
- Just in time / in the nick of time
- On time
- Save time
- Out of time
- As time goes by
- Time is money
- Make time
- Time for a change
- Come of age
- Crack of dawn
- Hit the big time
- Big time
- Day in the sun
- Even a broken/stopped clock is right twice a day
- Feast today, famine tomorrow
- Five ‘o’clock shadow
- For the time being
- Full of the joys of spring
- Good time
- Have one’s moments
- Here today, gone tomorrow
- Wasting time / a waste of time
- Once in a blue moon
- Time heals all wounds / time is a great healer
- Time after time / time and time again
- Only time will tell
- A hard time
- Stuck in a time warp
- The ship has sailed
- Once upon a time
- Not/never in a million years
- High time
- In the long run
- From time to time
- From now on
- A question/matter of time
- No time to lose
Meanings and Examples of some commonly used idioms about time
Around the clock
Meaning: Something which is open 24*7
Example: The poor guy is working around the clock to have two square meals a day
Behind the times
Meaning: Someone who is back-dated
Example: She is unable to cope up with this generation as she is much behind the times.
Ahead of time
Meaning: Something happening soon
Example: If you make the arrangements ahead of time, then you’ll be able to focus on the event more
Call it a night / day
Meaning: pausing a work or something else for a while
Example: I’m too tired to take the class, I think I should it a day
A month of Sundays
Meaning: a lengthy period of time
Example: It’s been a month of Sundays since I visited my grandmother’s house
Dwell on the past
Meaning: someone who is living in the past
Example: if you keep on dwelling in your past, you’ll won’t be able to concentrate on your present relationship
Against the clock
Meaning: someone who is in hurry and has much less time to complete it
Example: you will have to work the entire day, against the clock to finish off the task
Call time
Meaning: take a decision to end a work
Example: it is time to call time our relationship
Better late than never
Meaning: it is at least better to do some work a bit lately than never doing it
Example: I have finally convinced my parents for the marriage, better late than never
Days are numbered
Meaning: someone expected to lose their life soon
Example: her grandmother’s days are numbered, she is in her last stage of breast cancer
Don’t know whether to wind a watch or bark at the moon
Meaning: someone who doesn’t know anything what to be done
Example: I rejected his proposal because I didn’t know whether to wind a watch or bark at the moon
Eleventh hour
Meaning: Something occurring at the last moment
Examples: You always wait for the eleventh hour to finish your work
Carry the day
Meaning: to have a success win quite after a long time
Example: he had spent weeks to complete the project and now he was thrilled to carry the day at the exhibition
Time flies
Meaning: time goes by rapidly
Example: It’s been just a few months we met, and now time has arrived for him to leave, time flies with a blink
Just in time / in the nick of time
Meaning: finishing something before its much late
Example: she just finished her assignment in the nick of time.
On time
Meaning: Arriving at the exact time
Example: She arrived at her sister’s wedding ceremony just on time
Save time
Meaning: doing some tasks rapidly to carry on with other work
Example: take a rickshaw instead of walking, you’ll save time
Out of time
Meaning: expiry of an allotted time
Example: you need to submit your papers now as you are out of time
As time goes by
Meaning: passing away of time
Example: as time is going by, I’ve no more interest in doing my PhD
Time is money
Meaning: time is very precious
Example: you should get going by now, don’t waste any more time, tine is money as you already know
Make time
Meaning: prioritising something or someone
Example: you are so much busy with your work that you cannot even make time for your family.
Time for a change
Meaning: initiate something new leaving behind the old ones
Example: it is time for a change now if you want some new experience
Come of age
Meaning: something which has matured
Example: your son should become the king now, as he already came of his age
Crack of dawn
Meaning: at the break of dawn
Example: my father wakes up at the crack of dawn and goes for a jogging
Hit the big time
Meaning: to be successful
Example: Shahrukh hit the big time after his first movie
Big time
Meaning: much or a lot of something
Example: I helped him in his project, and he owes me big time for this
Day in the sun
Meaning: to get desired attention or appreciation
Example: the jury’s appreciation during my thesis presentation made it seem like a day in the sun for me
Even a broken or stopped clock is right twice a day
Meaning: when people get the luck they don’t or success they don’t deserve
Example: the teacher appreciated the boy who didn’t do anything for the project, even a broken or stopped clock is right twice a day
Feast today famine tomorrow
Meaning: if you spend everything you have it now and don’t save for future, then you’ll face difficulty
Example: save your money for future otherwise it will be a feast today and famine tomorrow
Five ‘o’ clock shadow
Meaning: the growth of facial hair if a person doesn’t shave for days
Example: you’ll be kicked out of your office with this five ‘o’ clock shadow you are having.
For the time being
Meaning: for any particular time period
Example: you can stay here for the time being, but please find a place to stay.
Full of the joys of spring
Meaning: describing someone who is very cheerful
Example: she is full of the joys and springs; he must have proposed her.
Good time
Meaning: someone who is able to get to their destination before expected time
Example: on the day of presentation, she reached her office in good time.
Have one’s moments
Meaning: someone who shows random burst of positivity
Example: he seems to have his moments; he is cooking dinner for all of us.
Here today, gone tomorrow
Meaning: this means that desirable things doesn’t last long.
Example: don’t think about money all the time it’s here today and gone tomorrow.
Wasting time / a waste of time
Meaning: spending time doing pointless things
Example: telling her not to smoke and drink is a total waste of time
Once in a blue moon
Meaning: rare occurrence
Example: he replies in the WhatsApp group once in a blue moon, only in the time of his need.
Time heals all wounds / time is a great healer
Meaning: Gradually passing away of grief
Example: don’t worry about her, time will heal all her wounds.
Time after time / time and time again
Meaning: something happening on a repeat
Example: time and time again you kept on violating the rules but I haven not taken any action against you.
Only time will tell
Meaning: time will reveal the truth
Example: time will tell whether he will come back or not
A hard time
Meaning: an ongoing difficult phase
Example: I know you are having a hard time dealing with everything on your own.
Stuck in a time warp
Meaning: someone remaining unchanged for a long-time span
Example: this place is so beautiful that I feel like getting stuck the time warp
The ship has sailed
Meaning: someone losing an opportunity
Example: there is no point going there now, the ship has already sailed
Once upon a time
Meaning: indication of occurrence of something long time back
Example: once upon a time we used to be very good friends
Not/never in a million years
Meaning: occurrence of something impossible
Example: never in a million years I would forget the incident
High time
Meaning: some work to be done a long time back
Example: its high time that we have taken a vacation
In the long run
Meaning: something that explains that for quite a long time
Example: let’s see what happens in the long run
From time to time
Meaning: doing something in a regular manner
Example: drink water and vegetables from time to time
From now on
Meaning: someone promising something presently and promising till future
Example: from now on I will take care of his daughter
A question / matter of time
Meaning: something that will occur certainly in future
Example: it was just a matter of time before the actual ceremony
No time to lose
Meaning: a work that is done in a rapid manner
Example: we need to hurry and bring the blood, there is no time to lose.