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
Thanks to all the Thunder’s blowout wins, the 7-foot stretch big got into 37 games in his rookie season, nearly all in garbage time.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 21 June 2025
Despite a 33-point fourth quarter on 13-for-20 FG shooting in (mostly) garbage time, the Pacers were still held to 45 percent shooting from the floor in Game 2.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
The Fever chose to keep two extra bigs on their roster (neither Brianna Turner nor Makayla Timpson played before garbage time) instead of another guard, a decision that was odd at the time and has aged poorly.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 29 May 2025
The other non-rotation backup who saw action before garbage time was Torrey Craig.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 7 Apr. 2025
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John Hollinger, New York Times, 21 June 2025
Despite a 33-point fourth quarter on 13-for-20 FG shooting in (mostly) garbage time, the Pacers were still held to 45 percent shooting from the floor in Game 2.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
The Fever chose to keep two extra bigs on their roster (neither Brianna Turner nor Makayla Timpson played before garbage time) instead of another guard, a decision that was odd at the time and has aged poorly.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 29 May 2025
The other non-rotation backup who saw action before garbage time was Torrey Craig.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 7 Apr. 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 30 Jun. 2025.
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