stop the clock
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After hitting a free throw, he quickly committed a take foul to stop the clock so he could leave the blowout.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
On the Giants next drive, with the Broncos already calling timeouts to stop the clock, Dart made a critical mistake.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
However, critics accused him of seeking to extend his term in office or stop the clock to better prepare his candidate - which he denies.
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2024
"They're using the ability to suppress the circadian rhythm, but they don't stop the clock from running. It's a really novel way of fine-tuning a metabolic process and energy expenditure in an animal."
From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2023
I’ll buy time another way: Ask anyone over twenty-nine about their love life and you can stop the clock cold for fifteen minutes, minimum.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
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.
