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• full time
  full time

  noun

  the number of hours in a period, as a day, week, or month, considered customary for pursuing an activity, especially working at a job: FT, F/T
• full-time
  full-time

  adjective

  working or operating the customary or requisite number of hours in each day, week, or month.

full time

¹ American  

[fool tahym] / ˈfʊl ˈtaɪm /

noun

1. the number of hours in a period, as a day, week, or month, considered customary for pursuing an activity, especially working at a job: FT, F/T

   The factory now operates on full time.

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full-time ² American  

[fool-tahym] / ˈfʊlˈtaɪm /

adjective

1. working or operating the customary or requisite number of hours in each day, week, or month.

   a full-time housekeeper;

   full-time production.

2. being indefinitely employed by one company for the customary or requisite number of hours.

   Only full-time employees are eligible for healthcare.

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adverb

1. on a full-time basis; on a schedule corresponding to the customary number of working or operational hours.

full-time ¹ British  

adjective

1. for the entire time appropriate to an activity

   a full-time job

   a full-time student

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adverb

1. on a full-time basis

   he works full time

full time ² British  

noun

1. the end of a football or other match Compare half-time

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Other Word Forms

• full-timer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of full time¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Origin of full-time²

First recorded in 1895–1900

Explanation

If you do something full-time, you spend most of your available time doing it. Working full-time usually means spending around forty hours a week doing your work. You can be employed at a full-time job, or you can be a full-time student. Some people are full-time parents, and you might hope to be a full-time artist or a full-time musician one day. In all of these examples, people use the majority of their waking hours (at least during the work week) focusing on one thing. This term dates from the late 1800s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

full time full-time

Children raised in two-parent families in which one parent is employed full time already have a host of advantages, while children raised in low-income single-parent households are more likely to face significant challenges.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

It’s currently unclear exactly where the newlyweds will base themselves full time.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026

He explained that 80% of people it supported were working full time, but "not earning enough now to be able to support themselves or support their family".

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

He recently dropped out of high school to tend to the farm full time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

“Hey, real quick, Dill. You still available full time come the end of school?”

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Reselling became a side hustle for many and a full-time job for some.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

It is a full-time job managing accounts and passwords.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Today, the paper operates with about 50 full-time employees and freelancers, a major decline from years past when the staff was in the hundreds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Making remarkable progress in her first season as a full-time athlete, Werro continues to uncover what, increasingly, appears to be potential of history-making proportions since completing her university studies.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Just as I never wondered what it was like for my mother to be a full-time, at-home mother, I never wondered then what it meant to be married.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama