Showing results for "time-out"

• a variation of timeout.

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• time-out
  time-out

  noun

  sport an interruption in play during which players rest, discuss tactics, or make substitutions
• time out
  time out

  A short break from work or play; also, a punishment for misbehavior in young children in which they are briefly separated from the group. For example, People rush around so much these days that I think everyone should take some time out now and then, or We don't throw food, Brian; you need some time out to think about it. This expression comes from a number of sports in which it signifies an interruption in play where the officials stop the clock, for purposes of rest, making a substitution, or consultation. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

time-out

British  

noun

1. sport an interruption in play during which players rest, discuss tactics, or make substitutions

2. a break taken during working hours

3. computing a condition occurring when the amount of time a computer has been instructed to wait for another device to perform a task has expired, usually indicated by an error message

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verb

1. (intr) (of a computer) to stop operating because of a time-out

time out Idioms  

1. A short break from work or play; also, a punishment for misbehavior in young children in which they are briefly separated from the group. For example, People rush around so much these days that I think everyone should take some time out now and then, or We don't throw food, Brian; you need some time out to think about it. This expression comes from a number of sports in which it signifies an interruption in play where the officials stop the clock, for purposes of rest, making a substitution, or consultation. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

time-out time out

The public saw all that and could only wonder: Hasn’t C.K.’s time-out lasted long enough?

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

Djokovic, who is bidding for a standalone record 25th major title, struggled with a lower back injury in the opening set and needed a medical time-out off the court.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2025

After the medical time-out, Alcaraz broke serve in the very next game to move two sets up, before rattling quickly through the third set to complete victory.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2025

“When we finally got let out of our collective time-out corner, we really wanted to go do stuff,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025

Hunter called a time-out and we went to the bench.

From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers

Russell said after the British Grand Prix last time out, where Antonelli suffered a second problem in three races that prevented him scoring, that the issues had now pretty much equalised across the two cars.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Beijing has invested heavily in its coast guard, which now has bigger ships with bigger guns that can spend more time out at sea, including the world’s longest patrol vessels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Belgium took USA apart last time out, but it's hard to read much into that because I am not really sure if it was down to how bad the USA were on the day.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

“Spending our time out here I think is just a great addition.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

On one occasion, after watching the Washington freshmen practice, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Royal Brougham marveled at the relentlessness of the sport: “Nobody ever took time out in a boat race,” he noted.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• breather
• letup
• lull