timer

[tahy-mer]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR timer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that times.

a person who measures or records time.

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

a device for controlling machinery, appliances, or the like, in a specified way at a predetermined time: Please put the roast in the oven and set the timer to cook it for two hours.

(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.

Nearby words

Origin of timer

First recorded in 1490–1500; time + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for timer

It also has a rechargeable battery and a timer, so you can leave it to set to work and return to a good-as-new grill later.
Sunny Smartwatches, Bags, and iGrills: This Summer’s Must-Have Tech|Charlotte Lytton|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Another technique that utilizes the timer is the Tabata protocol.
The Busy Person’s Guide to Becoming a Fitness Minimalist|DailyBurn|December 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I set the timer on my iPhone so that it goes off when I need to stop writing and attend to something else.
Curtis Sittenfeld: How I Write|Noah Charney|June 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But in the end, after the timer buzzed, she assured us it was all “for our children.”
15 Hilarious Pageant Moments||June 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Cheaper models are just an electric heating element and a timer, at which point, you might as well just go back to the stovetop.
The 2012 Holiday Kitchen Gift Guide|Megan McArdle|December 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If the day is not bright, shove your timer over to one-tenth of a second, or to one-fifth.
If You Don't Write Fiction|Charles Phelps Cushing
He jimmied the timer on the rocket motor so it would fire to the last drop.
Far from Home|J.A. Taylor
The Auburndale timer has been in the hands of a number of competent judges, and has always been found to be accurate.
The Auburndale Watch Company|Edwin A. Battison
They carefully put it together, inserted the explosive fuse, and set the timer.
The Secret of the Ninth Planet|Donald Allen Wollheim
They laid it down in the center of the equipment and set the timer for a half hour away.
The Secret of the Ninth Planet|Donald Allen Wollheim

British Dictionary definitions for timer

timer

noun

a device for measuring, recording, or indicating time

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

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

timer

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of timer

Examples from the Web for timer

timer

noun