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Synonyms

timer

American  
[tahy-mer] / ˈtaɪ mər /

noun

  1. a person or thing that times. times.

  2. a person who measures or records time. times.

  3. a device for indicating or measuring elapsed time, times, as a stopwatch.

  4. a device for controlling machinery, appliances, or the like, in a specified way at a predetermined time: times.

    Please put the roast in the oven and set the timer to cook it for two hours.

  5. (in an internal-combustion engine) a set of points actuated by a cam, which causes the spark for igniting the charge at the instant required.

timer British  
/ ˈtaɪmə /

noun

  1. a device for measuring, recording, or indicating time

  2. a switch or regulator that causes a mechanism to operate at a specific time or at predetermined intervals

  3. a person or thing that times

"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

Etymology

Origin of timer

First recorded in 1490–1500; time + -er 1

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.

He found that ratios in the middle of their historical distribution conveyed little information of value to a market timer; only extremely high or extremely low readings were worth following.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

One easy tactic: Decide how much time you want to spend on screens in advance, then set a timer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Chelsey, mother to Jack, four, and Maddox, one, uses a "timer and switch" method to ensure technology doesn't take over.

From BBC • Dec. 25, 2025

But the market timer might also have returned to the stock market well after its recovery had started.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 5, 2025

Nearby stood a large track-and-field timer sign and a lot of other equipment.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

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.