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
Denver’s end-of-bench players briefly threatened to turn the game upside down in garbage time before Houston held on.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
The Ducks crushed James Madison early, although the Dukes earned a backdoor cover in garbage time.
—Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Boston made just one fourth-quarter sub before garbage time, subbing Brown in for Neemias Queta after building a 115-102 lead with six minutes remaining.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
Green Bay beat Detroit 27-13 at home to open the season, as the Packers gave up just one touchdown, which came in garbage time and cut Green Bay's lead from 27-6 to 27-13.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
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Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
The Ducks crushed James Madison early, although the Dukes earned a backdoor cover in garbage time.
—Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Boston made just one fourth-quarter sub before garbage time, subbing Brown in for Neemias Queta after building a 115-102 lead with six minutes remaining.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
Green Bay beat Detroit 27-13 at home to open the season, as the Packers gave up just one touchdown, which came in garbage time and cut Green Bay's lead from 27-6 to 27-13.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 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 1 Jan. 2026.
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