take his time


Often, times.
leisure time; sufficient or spare time: to have time for a vacation; I have no time to stop now.
a particular part of a year, day, etc.; season or period: It's time for lunch.
the right occasion or opportunity: to watch one's time.
Drama. one of the three unities. Compare unity ( def 8 ).
tempo; relative rapidity of movement.
the metrical duration of a note or rest.
proper or characteristic tempo.
Manège. each completed action or movement of the horse.
of, pertaining to, or showing the passage of time.
verb (used with object), timed, timing.
to appoint or choose the moment or occasion for; schedule: He timed the attack perfectly.
verb (used without object), timed, timing.
to keep time; sound or move in unison.
ahead of time, before the time due; early: The building was completed ahead of time.
at one time,
once; in a former time: At one time they owned a restaurant.
at the same time; at once: They all tried to talk at one time.
at the same time, nevertheless; yet: I'd like to try it, but at the same time I'm a little afraid.
at times, at intervals; occasionally: At times the city becomes intolerable.
beat someone's time, Slang. to compete for or win a person being dated or courted by another; prevail over a rival: He accused me, his own brother, of trying to beat his time.
behind the times, old-fashioned; dated: These attitudes are behind the times.
for the time being, temporarily; for the present: Let's forget about it for the time being.
from time to time, on occasion; occasionally; at intervals: She comes to see us from time to time.
gain time, to postpone in order to make preparations or gain an advantage; delay the outcome of: He hoped to gain time by putting off signing the papers for a few days more.
in good time,
at the right time; on time; punctually.
in advance of the right time; early: We arrived at the appointed spot in good time.
in no time, in a very brief time; almost at once: Working together, they cleaned the entire house in no time.
in time,
early enough: to come in time for dinner.
in the future; eventually: In time he'll see what is right.
keep time,
to record time, as a watch or clock does.
to mark or observe the tempo.
to perform rhythmic movements in unison.
make time,
to move quickly, especially in an attempt to recover lost time.
to travel at a particular speed.
make time with, Slang. to pursue or take as a sexual partner.
many a time, again and again; frequently: Many a time they didn't have enough to eat and went to bed hungry.
mark time,
to suspend progress temporarily, as to await developments; fail to advance.
Military. to move the feet alternately as in marching, but without advancing.
on one's own time, during one's free time; without payment: He worked out more efficient production methods on his own time.
on time,
at the specified time; punctually.
take one's time, to be slow or leisurely; dawdle: Speed was important here, but he just took his time.
time after time, again and again; repeatedly; often: I've told him time after time not to slam the door.
time and time again, repeatedly; often: Time and time again I warned her to stop smoking. Also, time and again.
time of one's life, Informal. an extremely enjoyable experience: They had the time of their lives on their trip to Europe.

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English tīma; cognate with Old Norse tīmi; (v.) Middle English timen to arrange a time, derivative of the noun; akin to tide1

retime, verb (used with object), retimed, retiming.
untimed, adjective

thyme, time.

4. term, spell, span. 6. epoch, era.
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World English Dictionary
time (taɪm)
 b.  (as modifier): time travel Related: temporal
2.  physics caesium clock second See space-time a quantity measuring duration, usually with reference to a periodic process such as the rotation of the earth or the vibration of electromagnetic radiation emitted from certain atoms. In classical mechanics, time is absolute in the sense that the time of an event is independent of the observer. According to the theory of relativity it depends on the observer's frame of reference. Time is considered as a fourth coordinate required, along with three spatial coordinates, to specify an event
3.  a specific point on this continuum expressed in terms of hours and minutes: the time is four o'clock
4.  a system of reckoning for expressing time: Greenwich mean time
5.  a.  a definite and measurable portion of this continuum
 b.  (as modifier): time limit
6.  a.  an accepted period such as a day, season, etc
 b.  (in combination): springtime
7.  an unspecified interval; a while: I was there for a time
8.  (often plural) a period or point marked by specific attributes or events: the Victorian times; time for breakfast
9.  a sufficient interval or period: have you got time to help me?
10.  an instance or occasion: I called you three times
11.  an occasion or period of specified quality: have a good time; a miserable time
12.  the duration of human existence
13.  the heyday of human life: in her time she was a great star
14.  a suitable period or moment: it's time I told you
15.  the expected interval in which something is done: the flying time from New York to London was seven hours
16.  a particularly important moment, esp childbirth or death: her time had come
17.  (plural) indicating a degree or amount calculated by multiplication with the number specified: ten times three is thirty; he earns four times as much as me
18.  (often plural) the fashions, thought, etc, of the present age (esp in the phrases ahead of one's time, behind the times)
19.  (Brit) (in bars, pubs, etc) short for closing time
20.  informal a term in jail (esp in the phrase do time)
21.  a.  a customary or full period of work
 b.  the rate of pay for this period
22.  Also (esp US): metre
 b.  a specific system having a specific number of beats in each grouping or bar: duple time
23.  music short for time value
24.  prosody a unit of duration used in the measurement of poetic metre; mora
25.  against time in an effort to complete something in a limited period
26.  ahead of time before the deadline
27.  all in good time in due course
28.  all the time continuously
29.  at one time
 a.  once; formerly
 b.  simultaneously
30.  at the same time
 a.  simultaneously
 b.  nevertheless; however
31.  at times sometimes
32.  beat time (of a conductor, etc) to indicate the tempo or pulse of a piece of music by waving a baton or a hand, tapping out the beats, etc
33.  before one's time prematurely
34.  for the time being for the moment; temporarily
35.  from time to time at intervals; occasionally
36.  gain time See gain
37.  have no time for to have no patience with; not tolerate
38.  in good time
 a.  early
 b.  quickly
39.  in no time very quickly; almost instantaneously
40.  in one's own time
 a.  outside paid working hours
 b.  at one's own rate
41.  in time
 a.  early or at the appointed time
 b.  eventually
 c.  music at a correct metrical or rhythmic pulse
42.  keep time to observe correctly the accent or rhythmic pulse of a piece of music in relation to tempo
43.  lose time (of a timepiece) to operate too slowly
44.  lose no time to do something without delay
45.  make time
 a.  to find an opportunity
 b.  informal (US) (often foll by with) to succeed in seducing
46.  See mark
47.  in the nick of time at the last possible moment; at the critical moment
48.  on time
 a.  at the expected or scheduled time
 b.  (US) payable in instalments
49.  pass the time of day to exchange casual greetings (with an acquaintance)
50.  (Scot) time about alternately; turn and turn about
51.  time and again frequently
52.  time off a period when one is absent from work for a holiday, through sickness, etc
53.  (Austral) time on Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): extra time an additional period played at the end of a match, to compensate for time lost through injury or (in certain circumstances) to allow the teams to achieve a conclusive result
54.  time out of mind from time immemorial
55.  time of one's life a memorably enjoyable time
56.  (modifier) operating automatically at or for a set time, for security or convenience: time lock; time switch
57.  to ascertain or calculate the duration or speed of
58.  to set a time for
59.  to adjust to keep accurate time
60.  to pick a suitable time for
61.  sport to control the execution or speed of (an action, esp a shot or stroke) so that it has its full effect at the right moment
62.  the word called out by a publican signalling that it is closing time
Related: temporal
[Old English tīma; related to Old English tīd time, Old Norse tīmi, Alemannic zīme; see tide1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

O.E. tima "limited space of time," from P.Gmc. *timon "time" (cf. O.N. timi "time, proper time," Swed. timme "an hour"), from PIE *di-mon-, from base *da- "cut up, divide" (see tide). Abstract sense of "time as an indefinite continuous duration" is recorded from 1388. Personified
since at least 1509 as an aged bald man (but with a forelock) carrying a scythe and an hour-glass. In English, a single word encompasses time as "extent" and "point" (Fr. temps/fois, Ger. zeit/mal) as well as "hour" (e.g. "what time is it?" cf. Fr. heure, Ger. Uhr). Extended senses such as "occasion," "the right time," "leisure," or times (v.) "multiplied by" developed in O.E. and M.E., probably as a natural outgrowth of phrases like, "He commends her a hundred times to God" (O.Fr. La comande a Deu cent foiz).
"to have a good time ( = a time of enjoyment) was common in Eng. from c 1520 to c 1688; it was app. retained in America, whence readopted in Britain in 19th c." [OED]
Time of day (now mainly preserved in negation, i.e. what someone won't give you if he doesn't like you) was a popular 17c. salutation (e.g. "Good time of day vnto your Royall Grace," "Richard III," I.iii.18). Times as the name of a newspaper dates from 1788. Time warp first attested 1954; time capsule first recorded 1938, in ref. to New York World's Fair; time-travelling in the science fiction sense first recorded 1895 in H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine." To do time "serve a prison sentence" is from 1865. Time-honored is from 1593; time-worn is first attested 1729; time-keeper is from 1686; timeless "eternal" is 1628, earlier it meant "ill-timed" (1560). Time-limit is from 1880; time out in football is recorded from 1896. About time, ironically for "long past due time," is recorded from 1920. First record of timetable is attested from 1838, originally of railway trains. Behind the times "old-fashioned" is recorded from 1846, first attested in Dickens.

O.E. getimian "to happen, befall," from time (n.). Meaning "to appoint a time" (of an action, etc.) is attested from c.1300; sense of "to record the time of" (a race, event, etc.) is first attested 1670.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

time (tīm)

  1. A duration or relation of events expressed in terms of past, present, and future, and measured in units such as minutes, hours, days, months, or years.

  2. A certain period during which something is done.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
time   (tīm)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A continuous, measurable quantity in which events occur in a sequence proceeding from the past through the present to the future. See Note at space-time.

    1. An interval separating two points of this quantity; a duration.

    2. A system or reference frame in which such intervals are measured or such quantities are calculated.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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