me time

American

[mee tahym] / ˈmi ˌtaɪm /

Or me-time

noun

Informal.

time spent focusing on oneself and only doing things one wants to do.

I’ll try to find some me time when the kids go back to school.

me-time British

noun

the time a person has to himself or herself, in which to do something for his or her own enjoyment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of me time

First recorded in 1980–85

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.

The reason that being five years out from retirement is such a big deal is that it gives me time to plan.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

That saves me time and helps me pause before trusting AI-generated information—even if I still have to follow up with my own fact-checking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

Dax doesn’t save me time writing my note or make clinic go any faster.

From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025

"The way they were able to predict that, it gave me time to get to a point of safety," he said.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2025

It takes me time to translate what’s going on.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

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