screen time
Americannoun
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screen times
plural
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the amount of time devoted to a particular actor, topic, plot line, etc., in a film or TV show.
The female characters got less screen time than the male characters in all the film festival nominations.
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Digital Technology. the amount of time a person spends watching or interacting with content on the screen of a computer, phone, TV, gaming console, etc..
What's the maximum amount of screen time recommended for children under two?
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of screen time
First recorded in 1915–20, and in 1990–95 screen time for def. 2
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 results showed that greater screen time beginning in childhood was associated with better cognitive processing in adolescence.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
So while Jason Sudeikis, the star and co-creator, alongside Hunt, of “Ted Lasso,” insists the show is not about soccer, the sport sure gets a lot of screen time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Are you a parent who is concerned about screen time?
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Meta's Teen Accounts allow parents to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at 15 minutes, it said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
And in another 45 percent of families, parents consumed five hours of screen time per day.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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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.