pastime
Americannoun
noun
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.
They were right, but ultimately it wasn’t the website ads that transformed their creative pastime into a money-making industry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
Rubinstein remembers how people who were fond of cross-country skiing – a very popular pastime in winter in Russia – used to take their radios with them out of town, where there were fewer jammers.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
The self-proclaimed homebodies share that their ideal quality pastime is rewatching “Grey’s Anatomy” for the third time, sitting together in silence while enjoying cookie milkshakes, or spending a weekend away in nature.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026
Vast news deserts with no local coverage exist across the country, and independent reporting of any issue, concern, pastime, government action, youth activity or local PTA is nearly impossible to find.
From Salon • Feb. 6, 2026
Reading was Bucky's least favorite pastime, mainly because he wasn't all that good at it.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
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.
