time is of the essence
Delay costs dearly
Time is of the essence is a legal and business phrase meaning deadlines are critical and delays will not be tolerated.
In contracts, it signals that meeting specified dates is a binding obligation, not a suggestion.
More generally, it urges urgency: We need to move—time is of the essence.
- priorityStatus of greater importance
- window of opportunityTemporary favorable period
- immediacyQuality of being direct
- tick tockAlternating clock sounds
- race against timeUrgent struggle before deadline
no time to lose · carpe diem · strike while hot · deadline · time sensitive · punctuality · clause · breach · penalty · stipulation · fleetingness · ephemerality · obligation · enforceability · haste · timeliness · performance · urgency
- time sayingstime flies, time is money, time heals all wounds, time will tell, carpe diem
- contract clausesseverability clause, termination clause, confidentiality clause, force majeure, dispute resolution
- legal maximscaveat emptor, mens rea, bona fide, prima facie, ex post facto
time is of the essenceno rush
No urgency here
take your time · no hurry · at your leisure · non-urgent · open-ended
time is of the essenceslow and steady
Gradual but consistent
take it slow · gradual approach · measured pace · methodical · deliberate
essence, times, timing, timely, untimely, overtime, lifetime, sometime, essential