equal time


noun
  1. an equal amount of time on the air, which radio and television licensees are required to offer to opposing candidates for public office and to those voicing diverging views on public referendums.

Origin of equal time

1
First recorded in 1960–65

Words Nearby equal time

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use equal time in a sentence

  • equal time” may work for matters of political opinion, but not scientific fact.

  • No wonder Obama deadpanned at the dinner that Romney “asked if he could get some equal time on The Merv Griffin Show.”

  • Four long days' paddling took them there, and an equal time brought them to the western point of the Kanin Peninsula.

    Condemned as a Nihilist | George Alfred Henty
  • To broil a fish, split him on the back and broil him four minutes, flesh side down, turn and broil the other side an equal time.

    Woodcraft and Camping | George Washington Sears (Nessmuk)
  • And when equal time is added to a longer and shorter, the relative difference between them is diminished.

    Parmenides | Plato
  • A true spondee must be made by voicing two syllables in equal time, and each without stress.

  • At first, in practice, Pembroke did about equal time over the course with Lady Margaret, both crews being on fixed seats.

    Boating | W. B. Woodgate

Cultural definitions for equal time

equal time

A ruling of the United States government, administered by the Federal Communications Commission, requiring that all candidates for public office be given equal access to the free or paid use of radio and television.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.