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proper time

British

noun

time measured by a clock that has the same motion as the observer. Any clock in motion relative to the observer, or in a different gravitational field, will not, according to the theory of relativity, measure proper time

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The paper, titled "Quantum signatures of proper time in optical ion clocks," appeared April 20, 2026 in Physical Review Letters.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

Later, he adopted a habit of submitting the master tape of an episode so late there wasn’t proper time to review it.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2025

She said the bill would be an “absolutely mammoth change” and would be done “without the proper scrutiny and the proper time to have a proper discourse about it”.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2024

I managed to shove a few more things in there that I had really, really wanted to, but in my dream of dreams, we would have had a proper time frame to really dig deep.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2024

“Why do you think this is the proper time for an uprising in these parts?”

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023