race against the clock
Deadline-driven urgency
To race against the clock is to work urgently to finish something before a deadline: Rescue crews raced against the clock to find survivors.
The phrase emphasizes time as the opponent—you're not competing against others but against minutes running out.
Also appears as beat the clock when the focus is on succeeding rather than the urgency itself.
- eleventh hourLatest possible time
- nick of timeThe final possible moment
- running out of timeInsufficient duration remaining
- pressureForce upon contact
- under the gunFacing urgent pressure
time is ticking · sprint · timer · deadline · haste · hurry · urgency · timelimit · down to the wire · time crunch · photo finish · rescue missions · swift · emergency response · time-sensitive · countdown · dash · speed
race against the clocktake one's time
Act without haste
no rush · unhurried · leisurely · at leisure · no pressure
races, racing, racers, against, clock, clocks, clocked, clocking, clockwise