stopwatch

noun

stop·​watch ˈstäp-ˌwäch 

: a watch with a hand or a digital display that can be started and stopped at will for exact timing (as of a race)

Examples of stopwatch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The trades will have their stopwatches out for this standing ovation, no doubt. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026

But then scientists found a lake with sediment records that worked more like a stopwatch. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 9 Aug. 2026

The judgment came out of the cooper's hands and went into the jig, the gauge, the sequence, the stopwatch. — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026

In many places, no one is standing by with a stopwatch to enforce the rule. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1737, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stopwatch

• hopscotch
• wristwatch
• boche
• botch
• brough
• crotch
• gotch
• notch
• rotch
• scotch
• swatch
• watch

Kids Definition

stopwatch

noun

stop·​watch ˈstäp-ˌwäch 

: a watch having a hand or a digital display that can be started and stopped for exact timing (as of a race)