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• just-in-time
  just-in-time

  adjective

  noting or pertaining to a method of inventory control that keeps inventories low by scheduling needed goods and equipment to arrive a short time before a production run begins. JIT
• just in time
  just in time

  see in the nick of time.

just-in-time

American  

adjective

1. Business. noting or pertaining to a method of inventory control that keeps inventories low by scheduling needed goods and equipment to arrive a short time before a production run begins. JIT

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just-in-time British  

adjective

1.  JIT.  denoting or relating to an industrial method in which waste of resources is eliminated or reduced by producing production-line components, etc, as they are required, rather than holding large stocks

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just in time Idioms  

1. see in the nick of time.

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Etymology

Origin of just-in-time

First recorded in 1610–20 as an adverb, and in 1975–80 as an adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

just-in-time just in time

The DOD is moving to in-stock from just-in-time inventory, which makes sense.

From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026

His just-in-time epiphany leads him to do the very thing he has spent his whole career eschewing: substitute a simple calculus of immediate military advantage for legalistic code.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025

That would hit consumers and businesses which tend to rely on so-called "just-in-time" supply chains for goods, he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2024

“A just-in-time mindset that has persisted for almost three decades is giving way to a just-in-case approach, though delivering on these ambitions is challenging,” the report said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

We were still a couple blocks from the shop, but I wanted to put the brakes on the just-in-time lecture.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

He’s made it inside just in time to escape the rain, droplets from the downpour still visible on his white T-shirt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

But after late substitutions, the men are able to return to the fray just in time, and Odysseus prevails.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

She gets him within spitting distance of Downing Street just in time for her husband to dump her.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

He appeared to take his seat - alongside Infantino - about 20 minutes before kick-off, just in time to watch Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger perform in the closing ceremony.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

He got there just in time to see the taillights of Nixon’s limo disappear through the gate.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin