timer

American  

[tahy-mer] / ˈtaɪ mər /

noun

1. a person or thing that times.

2. a person who measures or records time.

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

4. 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.

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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of timer

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

Example Sentences

Again, the egg timer really works only in a single direction.

From Slate • May 5, 2026

But there’s nothing like listening to your tiny baby screaming on the other side of the door while waiting for a timer to go off so you can go comfort them.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

Were this another sport—football, basketball, baseball—they’d be swooning over Alcaraz as an all timer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

The average gold timer is almost as exuberant — 27% of the time over the past 25 years was the average timer more optimistic than today.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 6, 2026

As soon as the timer on the microwave went off, Calista walked into the living room.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Related Words

• timepiece
• wristwatch