pressed for time

Idioms  

1. In a hurry, as in How long will it take? I'm really pressed for time. This idiom uses press in the sense of “subject to pressure,” a usage dating from the late 1600s.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pressed for time

In any case, Vatican observers agree that Pope Leo is not particularly pressed for time.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

Keenan said he’d been pressed for time and left the mess there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

I will say that these characters do speak remarkably fast — they can be hard to understand — but they are, after all, almost always pressed for time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2023

Repeat after me: I will not squeeze in wallpapering when I'm pressed for time.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2022

Still weak from her tropical illness and pressed for time, she was forced to hire others to etch and engrave most of the copper plates based on her paintings.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman