time trial

American

noun

Sports.

a race in which competitors are timed individually on a set distance over a course or track, especially to qualify for a successive event.

time trial British

noun

(esp in cycling) a race in which the competitors compete against the clock over a specified course

"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

Other Word Forms

time-trialling

noun

Etymology

Origin of time trial

First recorded in 1855–60

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.

In the only Olympic long-track speedskating race with more than two competitors on the ice, the event is much more than a pure time trial.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

Belgian star Remco Evenepoel continued his excellent start to the season with victory in a second-stage time trial to take the overall lead of the UAE Tour on Tuesday.

From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026

Elsewhere, Joe Truman took bronze in the men's 1km time trial - behind the Dutch duo of Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland - to match his achievement from 12 months ago.

From BBC • Oct. 25, 2025

Early in the week, Pogacar looked a little jet-lagged during the individual time trial competition—that’s the one with the funny helmets, in which they compete for the fastest time against the clock.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

The next day rumors began to circulate that California had held yet another time trial.

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

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