against the clock
Under deadline pressure
Against the clock describes working under time pressure, racing to finish before a deadline.
The image is of a clock as opponent—you're competing with passing time rather than another person: We worked against the clock to meet the deadline.
In sports, against the clock means timed rather than head-to-head: a race against the clock.
- quicknessState of being fast
- zero hourScheduled start of action
- eleventh hourLatest possible time
- countdownBackward enumeration to zero
- deadlineTime limit for completion
last-minute · time is ticking · race · stress · tick tock · time limit · buzzer beater · urgency · trial run · acceleration · fast-paced · adrenaline · nail biter · rapid-fire · contest · sprint · hustle · briskness
- suspensesuspense, suspenseful, tension, nail-biter, nail-biting
- time pressurerush, rushed, urgency, no time to lose, deadline
- time sayingstime flies, time is money, time heals all wounds, time will tell, carpe diem
- timed gamesblitz chess, rapid chess, speed chess, time trials, countdown
- urgencyurgent, urgently, emergency, ASAP, stat
- being rushedhurrying, rushing, running late, scrambling, hustling
against the clockunhurried
Taking one's time
open-ended · leisurely · whenever · taking one's time · at will
against the clockleisurely
Done without urgency
unhurriedly · taking one's time · slowly · deliberately · at a snail's pace
against, clock, clocks, clocked, clocking, clockwise, clockwork, counterclockwise