pastime
Americannoun
-
pastimes
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pastime
1480–90; earlier pas ( s ) e tyme, translation of Middle French passe-temps
Explanation
A pastime is any hobby or activity that you do to pass the time. Usually, people enjoy their pastimes. When baseball was more popular, it was called the "national pastime," because so many people enjoyed watching or playing it. Baseball is still a major pastime, as are many other sports. Other pastimes include listening to music, playing music, watching TV, playing video games, playing with your dog, and any kind of hobby. Whenever you're awake and not working, you're probably enjoying a pastime.
Vocabulary lists containing pastime
Baseball: A Lexicon
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Words for the World Series
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This Week in Words: November 11 - 17, 2017
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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.
See Examples For:
Remakes enable this sharing of experiences because getting old computer hardware or video games consoles to work, while a pastime loved by some, is not possible for everyone.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
America’s national pastime, played by generations of children up and down the economic spectrum, is increasingly a sport for rich kids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Noodling is often portrayed as an extreme redneck pastime, but it traditionally had more to do with survival than sport.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
When night fell, a common pastime was dancing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
The boy should have picked a different pastime than hunting hogs at night.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Backyard bird feeding is one of our country’s most popular pastimes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
L.A. is also where she filmed her latest movie, “The Dink,” an Apple TV comedy centered on one of her favorite pastimes: pickleball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
While we have counseled that speculating on earnings reports is gambling, it remains one of the most prevalent pastimes in the stock and options market.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
We still live in San Francisco in the house we bought in 1989, shopping mostly at the same stores and engaging in many of the same pastimes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
I will not tolerate childish pastimes or vapid communications with friends.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
