Computers. a system or service in which a number of users at different terminals simultaneously use a single computer for different purposes.
Also a plan in which persons share ownership or rental costs of a vacation home, especially a condominium, entitling each participant to use the residence for a specified time each year.
a system of part ownership of a property, such as a flat or villa, for use as a holiday home, whereby each participant buys the right to use the property for the same fixed period annually
( as modifier )
a time-sharing system
a system by which users at different terminals of a computer can, because of its high speed, apparently communicate with it at the same time Compare batch processing
( as modifier )
a time-sharing computer
First recorded in 1960–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Stanford has laid claim to innovations ranging from computer time-sharing to the synthesis of biologically active DNA.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
A virtuoso at computer architecture, he built the first time-sharing computer and championed efforts to build the Ethernet.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2024
It reminds me of research on coyotes in Chicago—both types of carnivores stay in the shadows during the day and roam at night, effectively time-sharing densely populated cities.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 14, 2023
Although he didn’t lose either of those fumbles, they appeared to cost him his time-sharing duties with Williams.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2022
This is where Michigan came in, because Michigan was one of the first universities in the world to switch over to time-sharing.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
"People who are living with these medications are swapping notes with each other in real time, sharing experiences that rarely make it into a doctor's office visit or an official report."
From Science Daily ● May 24, 2026
He spent most of his time sharing the American dream story of Watson and his family.
From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2024
It looks as if all eight of them — the parents, three boys and three girls — were captured at the same time, sharing a happy family moment at a state park.
From New York Times ● Sep. 6, 2022
We spent copious amounts of time sharing, confiding and talking about our deepest thoughts.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2022
Then, with two of us at a time sharing the weight of the bucket, we started back to Shady’s place, looking hither and yon for any ghostly movement.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
