garbage time
noun
US, sports
: the final moments or minutes of a game in which one side has an insurmountable lead, substitutes often enter the game in place of starting players, and scoring is typically easier because of looser defensive play
… the forgotten foursome of Greg Kite, Fred Roberts, Sam Vicent and Conner Henry will be on call in case of extreme emergency and those meaningless minutes appropriately referred to as garbage time.—
Gerry Finn
Gerry FinnOne touchdown was all the Broncos' D allowed, and that came in garbage time.—Paul Zimmerman
Paul ZimmermanExamples of garbage time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thinking the Jets score a couple times early and once in garbage time.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
Ja’Marr Chase ended up with a big fantasy game last week, but both of his touchdowns came during fourth-quarter garbage time of another blowout.
—Dalton Del Don, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Quarterback Justin Fields threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, but most of those yards came in garbage time after the Cowboys had already jumped out to a massive lead.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
The Lions ran up a 28-3 lead while holding the Bengals to just 166 yards of total offense through the first three quarters, and if not for two Ja’Marr Chase touchdown grabs in garbage time in the fourth quarter, one of which went for 64 yards, Detroit’s win would’ve looked even more dominant.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for garbage time
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Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
Ja’Marr Chase ended up with a big fantasy game last week, but both of his touchdowns came during fourth-quarter garbage time of another blowout.
—Dalton Del Don, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Quarterback Justin Fields threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns in the loss, but most of those yards came in garbage time after the Cowboys had already jumped out to a massive lead.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
The Lions ran up a 28-3 lead while holding the Bengals to just 166 yards of total offense through the first three quarters, and if not for two Ja’Marr Chase touchdown grabs in garbage time in the fourth quarter, one of which went for 64 yards, Detroit’s win would’ve looked even more dominant.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for garbage time
Cite this Entry
“Garbage time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garbage%20time. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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