kill (the) time

idiom

informal
: to spend time doing something while one is waiting
We killed time watching the sailboats on the river.
We killed the time between trains playing video games.

Examples of kill (the) time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Miles never doesn’t sound like Miles, never again needs to kill time — time is Miles Davis’ servant. Bart Bull, SPIN, 20 June 2023 Resist the temptation to kill time by looking at your phone—those screens really blow out your night vision. Nicole Clausing, Sunset Magazine, 23 Jan. 2023 After all, there are only so many Netflix shows and loaves of banana bread to bake to kill the time. Kelsey Mulvey, Popular Mechanics, 12 Aug. 2020 Miles will spend the next few years darkly depressed, shooting dope, trying to kill time. Bart Bull, SPIN, 20 June 2023 After sunset, the windows in the observation car became far less interesting, sending many passengers off to kill time in their seats. Julia Carmel, oregonlive, 12 Dec. 2022 Banks also has to kill time with the dancers while the judges tabulate the results. Lynette Rice, EW.com, 24 Sep. 2020 After the two were taken off the air, the show had to kill time, with Behar and Haines engaging in a question-and-answer session with audience members until the remote interview with Harris was set up. NBC News, 24 Sep. 2021 Coach Brandon Staley explained later that the ball was supposed to be thrown out of bounds in order to kill time and set up a field-goal attempt to close the half. Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kill (the) time.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near kill (the) time

Cite this Entry

“Kill (the) time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kill%20%28the%29%20time. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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