pass the time
Idioms-
Occupy oneself for an interval, as in The plane was six hours late but I passed the time reading a book .
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pass the time of day . Exchange greetings, engage in pleasantries, chat, as in Whenever I met her we would stop to pass the time of day . [First half of 1800s]
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.
When Alex Morgan took an online autism test to pass the time while ill with Covid, it had never occurred to her she might have the condition.
From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026
You’ve heard of doomscrolling on your phone to pass the time — but what about “doomjobbing” while looking for work?
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
It’s often too hot to go outside, so people pass the time inside, wandering the converted hangars or browsing on their phones.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025
Sometimes, he said, he would join Alanís Garcia at the Oxnard Sunday flea market to walk around and pass the time.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025
But in fact the effort I had to make helped pass the time.
From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus
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.
