beat the clock
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When a guard tells them they just beat the clock, the nervous Ray-Ray sputters, “Oh we’re not together—right, Sal?. . . Um, I meant sir, not Sal—right, Sal?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
On Sunday in the conference tournament championship game, the Lions again had a chance to beat the clock and the Quakers.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 26, 2023
Chicago State then got the ball to Betson who beat the clock with the winning jumper.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2022
Disease detectives are trying desperately to beat the clock and find those who have been exposed to the virus.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2020
I used to break out in a sweat trying to beat the clock.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
