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• full time
  full time

  noun

  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
• full-time
  full-time

  adjective

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

full time

¹ American  

[fool tahym] / ˈfʊl ˈtaɪm /

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

   The factory now operates on full time.

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full-time ² American  

[fool-tahym] / ˈfʊlˈtaɪm /

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.

   Only full-time employees are eligible for healthcare.

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adverb

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

full-time ¹ British  

adjective

1. for the entire time appropriate to an activity

   a full-time job

   a full-time student

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adverb

1. on a full-time basis

   he works full time

full time ² British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• full-timer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of full time¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Origin of full-time²

First recorded in 1895–1900

Explanation

If you do something full-time, you spend most of your available time doing it. Working full-time usually means spending around forty hours a week doing your work. You can be employed at a full-time job, or you can be a full-time student. Some people are full-time parents, and you might hope to be a full-time artist or a full-time musician one day. In all of these examples, people use the majority of their waking hours (at least during the work week) focusing on one thing. This term dates from the late 1800s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

full time full-time

Children raised in two-parent families in which one parent is employed full time already have a host of advantages, while children raised in low-income single-parent households are more likely to face significant challenges.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

For Will Freeman, age 29, getting ahead meant starting his own consulting firm while working full time.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

He explained that 80% of people it supported were working full time, but "not earning enough now to be able to support themselves or support their family".

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

After the success of her 2007 vintage, Gao dedicated herself full time to her winery, eventually moving the family vineyard just east of the Helan mountain, where vines are protected from sandstorms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

By the spring of 1891 he was living full time in the shanty at Jackson Park; Margaret stayed in Evanston with a few servants who helped her care for their five children.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Median earnings for full-time male workers fell $690, while rising $1,900 for full-time female workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

“Back to the mom guilt — who am I to have someone full-time? A, in scarcity I can’t afford it, and B, I should be the one in the house doing all this stuff myself.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Fellow retiree Ben Garcia did succeed with the boot, however, as he kicked the extras in the aftermath of Lis' try on the verge of the full-time hooter.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Its Brussels lobbying operation involves 44 people, working either full-time or part-time.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The rooms had all been converted into one-room efficiency apartments, and each unit had been modified to meet the very specific needs of a full-time gunter.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline