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:
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
A favorite local pastime is trading pictures of poorly wrapped vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Chevy Metal once served a similar purpose for Taylor, a favorite pastime alongside his Foo Fighters work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The Sixers gave gunters a common enemy, and Sixer bashing was a favorite pastime in our forums and chat rooms.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Spend Halloween with one of L.A.’s favorite pastimes: watching a beloved movie outdoors at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Backyard bird feeding is one of our country’s most popular pastimes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 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
The possibilities they outlined were dazzling, but led us to wonder what other new pastimes we should be prepared to embrace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
“Is another subject the national pastimes in Zambia?”
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
