ticks away
Time slips by
Ticks away describes time passing steadily, moment by moment, like the sound of a clock's mechanism.
The phrase emphasizes the relentless forward movement of time: The seconds ticked away as we waited for news.
It often carries urgency or anxiety about a deadline or dwindling opportunity: With the clock ticking away, they scrambled to finish.
- secondsTime units, or extras
- counting downSequential subtraction to zero
- clockDevice displaying time
- minutesSixty-second intervals
- running outApproaching total depletion
time flies · impermanence · deadline · race against time · watch · transience · hourglass · chronometer · pendulum · rhythm · metronome · due date · expiration · timer · present · days · past · alarm
ticks awaystops
Ceases to continue
freezes · stands still · halts · ceases · pauses
ticks awaystops
Ceases to continue
dies · winds down · runs down · breaks down · seizes up
ticks awaystops dead
Halts completely and suddenly
grinds to a halt · shuts down · winds down · dies · runs out