Jump To:

• part time
  part time

  noun

  a period of time that is less than full time: PT, P/T
• part-time
  part-time

  adjective

  employed, functioning, or working less than the customary or requisite number of hours.

part time

¹ American  

[pahrt tahym] / ˈpɑrt ˈtaɪm /

noun

1. a period of time that is less than full time: PT, P/T

   Thirty-five hours a week is still considered part time.

---

part-time ² American  

[pahrt-tahym, pahrt-tahym] / ˈpɑrtˌtaɪm, ˈpɑrtˈtaɪm /

adjective

1. employed, functioning, or working less than the customary or requisite number of hours.

   They had only enough money to hire a part-time clerk.

2. lasting, requiring, or being in force only a part of the time.

   part-time employment;

   part-time jobs.

---

adverb

1. on a part-time basis.

   to work part-time.

part-time British  

adjective

1. for less than the entire time appropriate to an activity

   a part-time job

   a part-time waitress

---

adverb

1. on a part-time basis

   he works part time

Other Word Forms

• part-timer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of part time¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Origin of part-time²

First recorded in 1890–95; adjective, adverb use of part time

Explanation

Anything that's part-time is done less often than is typical or average. If you're sick of working full-time hours, try working part-time. Part-time works as an adjective or an adverb, to describe things that don't take up as much time as you might expect, just part of a day or part of a week. If you're a part-time bus driver, you might do it twenty hours each week, in between classes. You could also call yourself a part-time student, or say that you study sociology part-time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

part time part-time

We’re both semi-retired and currently working part time.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

The question is whether Ted, working part time as the assistant manager of a supermarket, is living the best version of himself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

She said that when she is released from quarantine, she plans to fly home on a commercial flight to Florida, where she lives part time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

A recent survey conducted by Indeed Flex, a job search site, says almost 30% of retirees are considering part time or temporary work.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

They are going to pay me evry week like for a part time job because that was part of the arraingment when they got the mony from the Welberg foundashun.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

More than four in 10 Gen Z adults, 44%, say either full-time or part-time content creation is the ideal career, according to a Morning Consult survey.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

In 2022, her foundation announced a plan to fund the education of all Dollywood employees — full- and part-time, as well as seasonal — effective from the starting date of every employee.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

Then again, as last year’s mixed jamboree showed, the part-time doublers may have a hard time knocking out the professionally committed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

She is carrying out her PhD research part-time with support from a University of Reading regional bursary, a program designed to help people from the local area pursue research studies.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

He works part-time at a local auto-parts store.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson