: something that amuses and serves to make time pass agreeably : diversion
Her favorite pastime is gardening.
Baseball has been a national pastime for many years.
Examples of pastime in a Sentence
Baseball has been a national pastime for years.
Recent Examples on the Web
Dreaming was a new pastime in a country long considered fatalistic.
—
Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Fretting about how young people spend their hours is a perennial adult pastime, one that long predates Minecraft.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
Enjoying a swimming hole in the summer is a prime Vermont pastime, but the state's waterways are just as magical in the colder months.
—Megan Margulies, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2025
News of the White House’s softening stance prompted Wall Street to claw back about half of Friday’s losses—a narrative that is becoming par for the course (to leverage the lingo of the president’s favorite pastime).
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pastime
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Fretting about how young people spend their hours is a perennial adult pastime, one that long predates Minecraft.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
Enjoying a swimming hole in the summer is a prime Vermont pastime, but the state's waterways are just as magical in the colder months.
—Megan Margulies, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2025
News of the White House’s softening stance prompted Wall Street to claw back about half of Friday’s losses—a narrative that is becoming par for the course (to leverage the lingo of the president’s favorite pastime).
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pastime
Cite this Entry
“Pastime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pastime. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pastime
noun
pas·time
ˈpas-ˌtīm 
: something that helps to make time pass agreeably
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share