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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• timers
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of timer

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

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

timer timers

Most of the time, he puts away his toys before our five-minute cleanup timer goes off.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Though the market’s pullback was relatively modest, the average market timer nevertheless ran for the exits in a big way.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

"A non-functional mouse is not just about pausing the timer," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The timer could include a message that says, “You’ve got five minutes to complete this sale,” or “Enter your credit card now or the price will go up,” Moore said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

I dropped the pasta in and set the timer.

From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour

Its long-maligned assistant was already stale the day it arrived, surpassed by agents such as Instinct and Muse that can complete multistep tasks for consumers, while Siri still sets kitchen timers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

I use the Amazon Echo Show device daily, sometimes to play music, but mostly to set timers and turn off all the lights before bedtime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Bambi, a woman in her late 60s, began consuming conspiratorial media so religiously that she set timers to make sure she didn’t miss podcasts.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

The cooking part was over, the timers went off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

They don’t have fancy egg timers in the supply closet at her office.

From "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• timepiece
• wristwatch

---