TIME-OUT Definition & Meaning

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time-out

noun

sport an interruption in play during which players rest, discuss tactics, or make substitutions
a break taken during working hours
computing a condition occurring when the amount of time a computer has been instructed to wait for another device to perform a task has expired, usually indicated by an error message

verb

(intr) (of a computer) to stop operating because of a time-out

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Idioms and Phrases

A short break from work or play; also, a punishment for misbehavior in young children in which they are briefly separated from the group. For example, People rush around so much these days that I think everyone should take some time out now and then, or We don't throw food, Brian; you need some time out to think about it. This expression comes from a number of sports in which it signifies an interruption in play where the officials stop the clock, for purposes of rest, making a substitution, or consultation. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A tightly contested second set followed, with Bublik able to find some of the shots that stunned Draper last time out.

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The teens who fought were rewarded with extra television and more time out of their cells, the suit alleged.

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Connor said it had been suggested to him that Cole might have taken "time out" for his mental health, but he didn't feel that explained his brother's long absence.

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Among the actors in his scenes this time out, Saxon had previously worked with Simon Pegg on the 1999 British sitcom “Hippies.”

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Wolves' winning run was ended by Manchester City last time out but I was still really impressed by their intensity and they will cause Brighton plenty of problems too.

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Related 51�Թ�s

breather��
letup��
lull��

timeout time out of mind

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