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buy time

Idioms

Increase the time available for a specific purpose. For example, Renting an apartment buys them time to look around for a new house.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Air defense is meant to buy time for offensive operations that neutralize enemy launch capabilities, said Colby Badhwar, a Canadian security analyst.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

The draft bill now going through parliament is an attempt to find a way through the issue, or at least to buy time ahead of elections due next year.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

Quarterback Michael Gonzalez rolled to his right to buy time and launched a pass into a maze of players in the end zone.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2025

Jason Schloetzer, a business professor at Georgetown University, told MarketWatch last week that Target was likely looking for “quick wins” to buy time, as investors wait for the retailer’s turnaround plans to generate profit.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 28, 2025

I tapped my pencil on my notebook, trying to buy time.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023