screen time

noun

1
: the amount of time someone or something appears on screen in a movie or television show
… the widespread practice of product placement (in which companies buy screen time for their brands) …Celia Wren
Peck's role is only a cameo—23 minutes of screen time scattered through six and a half hours of edited film …John Skow
2
: time spent watching television, playing a video game, or using an electronic device with a screen (such as a smartphone or tablet)
Concerns about children spending too much time on digital devices—'screen time'—and becoming overdependent on these devices are very real for many teachers and parents.Nicky Hockly
If yours is like most American families with kids under age 5, your child probably watches between three and four hours of television a day. That's a lot of screen timeDebra Kent

Examples of screen time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The study found that every additional hour of daily screen time in early childhood was associated with a roughly nine to 10 percent lower likelihood of achieving higher test scores in reading and math. Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025 Overall screen time also is an issue, with 85% of parents saying their children watch YouTube, including more parents of children younger than age 2 than in 2020. Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2025 My six-year-old is getting a PhD in Legos and so his screen time is part of his clinical hours toward learning how to be a Lego expert. Marah Eakin, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025 No matter the screen time, Wolk impresses. Vincent Perella, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for screen time

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of screen time was in 1921

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Cite this Entry

“Screen time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screen%20time. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.

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