timer

[ tahy-mer ]

/ ˈtaɪ mər /

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

timeo danaos et dona ferentes, timeous, timepass, timepiece, timepleaser, timer, times, times sign, times square, timesaving, timescale

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

/ (ˈtaɪmə) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for timer

timer

noun