by the time
idiom
: at the time : when
I had lived in 12 different cities by the time I turned 18.
By the time she showed up, I was finished eating.
Examples of by the time in a Sentence
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Main Street still holds in-market rights to 13 NBA and seven NHL teams, but those legacy deals are all but certain to be voided by the time both leagues close out their respective 2025-26 campaigns.
—
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 24 Feb. 2026
And there is a direct connection between vision health and school performance — a connection that manifests by the time kids get to preschool.
—Brian Park, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
Indeed, also in 2000 Son took a $20 million bet on an obscure e-commerce startup called Alibaba—a stake that was worth $75 billion when the firm went public in 2014 and roughly doubled again by the time Son sold up.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
Kotoshoho’s victory had already been secured by the time the tournament drew to a close, with a final match between Onosato and Kotozakura, an ozeki who had once been in contention for promotion to yokozuna before a string of losses put him behind his rivals Onosato and Hoshoryu.
—Joshua Hunt, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
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Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 24 Feb. 2026
And there is a direct connection between vision health and school performance — a connection that manifests by the time kids get to preschool.
—Brian Park, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
Indeed, also in 2000 Son took a $20 million bet on an obscure e-commerce startup called Alibaba—a stake that was worth $75 billion when the firm went public in 2014 and roughly doubled again by the time Son sold up.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
Kotoshoho’s victory had already been secured by the time the tournament drew to a close, with a final match between Onosato and Kotozakura, an ozeki who had once been in contention for promotion to yokozuna before a string of losses put him behind his rivals Onosato and Hoshoryu.
—Joshua Hunt, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for by the time
Cite this Entry
“By the time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20the%20time. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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