full time

¹

[ fool tahym ]

noun

1. the number of hours in a period, as a day, week, or month, considered customary for pursuing an activity, especially working at a job: : FT, F/T Compare part time ( def ).

   The factory now operates on full time.

full-time

²

[ fool-tahym ]

adjective

1. working or operating the customary or requisite number of hours in each day, week, or month:

   a full-time housekeeper;

   full-time production.

2. being indefinitely employed by one company for the customary or requisite number of hours: Compare freelance ( def 1 ).

   Only full-time employees are eligible for healthcare.

adverb

1. on a full-time basis; on a schedule corresponding to the customary number of working or operational hours.

full time

¹

noun

1. See half-time
   the end of a football or other match Compare half-time

full-time

²

adjective

1. for the entire time appropriate to an activity

   a full-time student

   a full-time job

adverb

1. on a full-time basis

   he works full time

Derived Forms

• ˌfull-ˈtimer, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of full time¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Origin of full time²

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

It’s a habit she established when she worked full time outside the home.

From Washington Post

A full time return to the office and work once the coronavirus crisis has subsided is unlikely, according to the findings of a new global study.

From Digiday

Chief among them is a revised formula that gives more consideration to an institution’s total number of students, instead of focusing on those attending full time.

From Washington Post

The counselors, who work full time and earn $50,000 to $65,000 a year, including benefits, stop by to check in with students stocking the dairy case at Walmart or working a shift at a Sonic Drive-In.

From Washington Post

In 2018, she was hired full time by the Clayton News to cover crime and safety.

From Washington Post

Releasing two, fully produced music videos per month is way more than a full time job.

From The Daily Beast

But Jeff, who began his foray into pot gastronomy as a hobby, is rapidly turning it into a full-time pot-repreneurial business.

From The Daily Beast

Three of the six members of the group work on the channel full time, but Sep has a full time job as a mechanical engineer.

From The Daily Beast

She certainly does not feel the need for a full time dressmaker like Angela Kelly.

From The Daily Beast

A graduate of Wake Forest University, she taught high-school English for six years before becoming a full-time mom and writer.

From The Daily Beast

There ain't enough to keep him on full time, but we send for him whenever we need him.

From Project Gutenberg

He may have been in and out of there off and on but he didn't spend full time there that long.

From Project Gutenberg

He has had the benefit of full time, and good counsel, and of the Commonwealth's process, to bring in his witnesses.

From Project Gutenberg

We went on slowly, as such a match must, occasionally pausing to cool our barrels, and taking full time with the loading.

From Project Gutenberg

But now that my friends were interesting themselves, I thought it full time that I should be looking after affairs myself.

From Project Gutenberg