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• double time
  double time

  noun

  the fastest rate of marching troops, a slow jog in which 180 paces, each of 3 feet (0.9 meters), are taken in a minute.
• double-time
  double-time

  verb (used with object)

  to cause to move in double time.

double time

¹ American  

noun

1. U.S. Army. the fastest rate of marching troops, a slow jog in which 180 paces, each of 3 feet (0.9 meters), are taken in a minute.

2. a slow run by troops in step.

3. a rate of overtime pay that is twice the regular wage rate.

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double-time ² American  

[duhb-uhl-tahym] / ˈdʌb əlˌtaɪm /

verb (used with object)

double-timed, double-timing

1. to cause to move in double time.

   Double-time the troops to the mess hall.

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verb (used without object)

double-timed, double-timing

1. to move in double time.

double time British  

noun

1. a doubled wage rate, paid for working on public holidays, etc

2. music

   1. a time twice as fast as an earlier section

   2. two beats per bar

3. a slow running pace, keeping in step

4. army a fast march of 180 paces to the minute

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verb

1. to move or cause to move in double time

Etymology

Origin of double time¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Origin of double-time²

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

double time double-time double-timed double-timing

Cooks in tie-dyed aprons and sky-blue baseball caps move in double time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

“If I need to make something from scratch, I need to work double time before I finish the product,” she explains.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024

"So all of you people feel underused now, get a good night's sleep, because next year you're going to be working double time," he said.

From Reuters ● Nov. 15, 2023

“It means programs like ours have to work double time, at increased expense to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote.”

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2023

They marched up the hill, Agnes tripping along double time to keep up with Gilly’s exaggerated strides.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson

The rushing double-time builds and releases of trance are heard on “Love Sensation.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

The big moment came as the song reached its fever pitch with drummer Ringo Starr going into a mind-boggling double-time.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024

Among aficionados, Skibadee was renowned for his collaborations with fellow jungle and drum and bass MC Shabba D; and the 2Xfreestyle project, which merged drum and bass tempos with hip-hop beats, creating the double-time effect.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2022

True to the name of his burgeoning genre, Glaive’s music has a punky, proudly frenetic energy, with buzzing synth riffs and highly processed vocals over distorted beats that can explode suddenly into double-time spasms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2021

Hearing Ma weeping and Pop wheezing, cracking his knuckles while Leda sucks her pacifier double-time and Ray holds my hand.

From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

They double-timed it back to grab them, but officials hit them with a delay of game penalty — officially deemed an administrative technical foul — because the start had to be postponed a few minutes.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 4, 2023

Gart lost five pounds, and says he hasn't done so much footwork since he double-timed across Germany from the Rhine to the Elbe with the Ninth Army in World War II.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the autumn of 1942, Guy Sajer, 16, the French-speaking son of a German mother, cockily double-timed into Russia to help recharge the Third Reich's blitzkrieg on the steppes.

From Time Magazine Archive

To this end, he double-timed through ten states last week, from Oregon to Indiana to Arizona, for a total of 15 in his first fortnight of candidacy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Over every smooth stretch the men were double-timed, and there was an unusual animus against stragglers.

From The Long Roll by Mary Johnston

If only Rose and Frankie would dump the double-timing bastard and go off with each other or run for office or take up painting restoration.

From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2011

By 10:30 p.m., when the special session ends, the double-timing Brown instructors who teach it are usually a pale shade of grey.

From Time Magazine Archive

Here I've been, dressed in fatigues and combat boots, double-timing in platoon formation without realizing the social significance of my actions.

From Time Magazine Archive

Worse than the looks of the place were the ugly reports that came from there: The newcomer saw a line of men double-timing along the walks.

From Time Magazine Archive

By the way, I'm convinced that Murray is double-timing me.

From The Martian Cabal by Roman Frederick Starzl