pass the time

Idioms  

1. Occupy oneself for an interval, as in The plane was six hours late but I passed the time reading a book .

2. pass the time of day . Exchange greetings, engage in pleasantries, chat, as in Whenever I met her we would stop to pass the time of day . [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Bored out of their minds, they riff on customers and even play hockey to pass the time.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s often too hot to go outside, so people pass the time inside, wandering the converted hangars or browsing on their phones.

From The Wall Street Journal

Migrants pass the time at Oasis de Migrante shelter in Juárez.

From Los Angeles Times

Sometimes, he said, he would join Alanís Garcia at the Oxnard Sunday flea market to walk around and pass the time.

From Los Angeles Times

Thin character development hobbles the film’s pacing during moments where giving any of them a shred of an identity would’ve helped pass the time between kills; it’s a letdown that each cast member — apart from the fantastic Lili Taylor as VP Dolores Brekenridge — reads so anonymously, considering how efficiently Janiak’s films give personalities even to their minor supporting characters.

From Salon