First recorded in 1980–85
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 why 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
"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
This explains why antibiotics failed me time and time again: They selected for the resistant and hypervirulent strains of C. acnes.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2025
He gave me time to dash upstairs and find Grandmother’s portrait.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
If the me-time in your car lasts so long that it becomes an issue with a spouse or causes you to delay your parental duties too much, it’s time to reconsider, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
Other employees are taking a pay cut to not work on Fridays, or some who set their own schedules have designated Fridays as me-time.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
Meghan King is ready to embark on the next chapter of her life – but not without some me-time first.
From Fox News ● Jan. 25, 2022
I always start with my sweet almond cleansing balm, as a me-time treatment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
I happen to enjoy cooking, so doing that as my last chore of the night while watching Murder, She Wrote is like … my very lame me-time.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2019
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.
