timer

American  

[tahy-mer] / ˈtaɪ mər /

noun

timers plural

1. a person or thing that times.

2. a person who measures or records time.

3. a device for indicating or measuring elapsed time, as a stopwatch.

4. a device for controlling machinery, appliances, or the like, in a specified way at a predetermined time.

   Please put the roast in the oven and set the timer to cook it for two hours.

5. (in an internal-combustion engine) a set of points actuated by a cam, which causes the spark for igniting the charge at the instant required.

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timer British  

/ ˈtaɪmə /

noun

1. a device for measuring, recording, or indicating time

2. a switch or regulator that causes a mechanism to operate at a specific time or at predetermined intervals

3. a person or thing that times

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• timers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of timer

First recorded in 1490–1500; time + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The one saving grace, said Timer, has been the public's "very significant rising awareness" of deforestation in Indonesia since the disaster.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

Prophet developed a new, more basic logo—no barrel, chair or Old Timer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 25, 2025

Cracker Barrel received criticism after it unveiled a modern version of its logo which scrapped the "Old Timer" figure.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2025

And part of this deforestation can be directly linked to the expansion of Indonesia’s nickel industry, said Timer Manurung, director of Auriga Nusantara, a nongovernmental conservation organization based in Indonesia.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 28, 2024

Meredith, the Old Timer, you know, has kept her up there among the hills.

From The Sky Pilot, a Tale of the Foothills by Connor, Ralph

Related Words

• timepiece
• wristwatch