lose time
Idioms-
Operate too slowly. For example, My watch loses time , or This clock loses five minutes a day . This usage is always applied to a timepiece. [Mid-1800s]
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Waste time, delay, as in We wanted to paint the entire porch today, but we lost time trying to find a color that matched the house . This expression is sometimes put negatively as lose no time , meaning “act immediately” or “not delay,” as in We must lose no time in getting him to the hospital . [Late 1500s] Also see make up for lost time .
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.
“I’m just afraid that we will lose time while the new team comes to understand what is happening.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
"These workers, who are overwhelmingly Black workers, immigrant workers, and women, literally can't afford to take breaks or lose time to take care of their health," she explained.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2023
But I just don't like to lose time with finding excuses, because that's exactly when you start to you start to lose time, and you just don't go forward.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2022
She added that she rarely rewatched her old films: “I don’t have time to see new films. Why should I lose time watching my previous ones?”
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2022
Papa ate quickly because he did not want to lose time from work.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
