against the clock

Idioms  

1. Also, against time. In a great hurry, as fast as possible, as in With her term paper due on Monday, she was racing against the clock to finish it, or They were working against time to stay on schedule. The term comes from various sports in which the contestants do not directly compete against each other but instead are timed individually, the winner being the one who is fastest. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

against the clock

But it is a race against the clock and a turning tide means the small army of people gathering the harvest eventually beats a retreat to the shore.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

"This was... a race against the clock, as it was critical that we locate the downed aviator as quickly as possible, while at the same time keeping our enemies misdirected," Ratcliffe told the news conference.

From Barron's ● Apr. 6, 2026

A large digital clock appeared at the start of each episode, with bright numerals showing the current time in 24-hour format, as Bauer raced against the clock to avert disaster.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

I love Shakespeare as much as the next theater critic, but the text should have been more rigorously streamlined for a company that too often seems to be racing against the clock.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

What one historian has called “the perishability of revolutionary time” meant that the political will to act was also racing against the clock.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis