time
What clocks track
Every language finds ways to divide time into past, present, and future, so it’s no surprise that the word time is itself a high-frequency word.
It appeared first in English as a noun and is related to the word tide, which gives us a glimpse into our ancestors’ sense of time.
Like many nouns, time has both countable and uncountable meanings.
Uncountable time communicates the concept of the continuum in which all things happen (since the beginning of time), or for a slice of the continuum (the time of the colonization).
Countable time relates to occasions, events, and specific hours: The times of the meetings have changed. When is the best time for me to call you? Several times I tried to stop her.
Device displaying time
- watchPortable timekeeping device
- stopwatchInterval timing device
- hourglassGravity-powered sand timer
- sundialShadow-based timekeeper
chronometer · second · minute · hour · day · week · month · year
State of existing briefly
- eternityBoundless temporal existence
- infinityUnlimited extent or quantity
- transienceBrevity of existence
- impermanenceQuality of not lasting
flux · becoming · causality · fourth dimension · spacetime · relativity · simultaneity · entropy
Rate of musical performance
- beatRhythmic pulse or strike
- rhythmPatterned stress and silence
- measureUnit of quantity
- meterDevice that measures usage
syncopation · bar · downbeat · upbeat · pulse · groove · duple · triple
Distinct historical period
- eraDistinct historical period
- ageDuration of existence
- eonImmense time division
- millenniumSpan of thousand years
century · decade · annals · chronicles · sequence · succession · antiquity · prehistory
Distance between endpoints
- lengthMeasure of extent
- stretchPull to extend
- intervalDuration between two points
- spellArrange letters correctly
period · extent · lifespan · longevity · stint · tenure · term · while
clock
Device displaying time
sundial · chronometer · second · minute · hour · day · week · month · year · decade
temporality
State of existing briefly
- eternityBoundless temporal existence
- infinityUnlimited extent or quantity
- transienceBrevity of existence
impermanence · flux · becoming · causality · fourth dimension · spacetime · relativity · simultaneity · entropy · mortality
tempo
Rate of musical performance
meter · syncopation · bar · downbeat · upbeat · pulse · groove · duple · triple · rubato
epoch
Distinct historical period
millennium · century · decade · annals · chronicles · sequence · succession · antiquity · prehistory · history
span
Distance between endpoints
spell · period · extent · lifespan · longevity · stint · tenure · term · while · phase
instant
Briefest unit of time
juncture · heartbeat · blink · snapshot · occasion · point · jiffy · twinkling · split-second · nanosecond
flies
Winged buzzing pests
money · kills · crunch · warp · capsule · machine · travel · loop · freeze · borrowed
- resourcesresources, money, natural resources, human resources, financial resources
- timesecond, minute, hour, day, seconds
- topicsnature, health, sports, science, politics
- basic wordsand, the, but, on, up
- long vowel wordslong a, long e, long i, long o, long u
- things that run outmoney, gas, fuel, battery, patience
timetimelessness
Freedom from temporal decay
eternity · stasis · stillness · permanence · changelessness
- on timeAt the scheduled moment
- free timeUnscheduled personal hours
- all the timeWithout interruption or pause
- take your timeProceed without urgency
- once upon a timeTraditional narrative opening
- first timeMaiden occurrence
times, sometime, timeless, timer, lifetime, bedtime, timely, nighttime, daytime