the clock
noun
1
: a clock that is used in sports and that shows how much time remains for a particular part of a game
They were winning by 2 points with 10 seconds (left) on the clock.
They stopped the (game) clock with eight seconds remaining.
2
: a special clock that is used to record the times when an employee starts and stops working : time clock
I punched the clock at 8:45 and started working right away.
3
chiefly British
: a device that shows how far a vehicle has traveled
a car with 100,000 miles on the clock
Examples of the clock in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In recent months, thousands of workers labored around the clock in Kikuyo to build the TSMC fab and prepare the machines and materials for making chips.
—
John Liu, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The score was only that close because of the last few minutes with Golden State’s deep reserves stumbling out the clock.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
The Pacers then dribbled out the clock to clinch the important win.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024
But the clock appears to be ticking, and the IDF is eager to consolidate its gains.
—Hazem Balousha, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
While the clock is ticking down, legislators can sometimes find creative uses of procedure to revive bills hanging on by a thread.
—Rebecca Grapevine, The Courier-Journal, 26 Mar. 2024
Trent Frederic tied the game with a power-play goal with 4:22 left to play before Pavel Zacha scored the game-winner against Sergei Bobrovsky with 2:21 remaining on the clock.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
In contrast, large retailers have vast industrial warehouses in multiple cities across the country, where teams of employees or contractors, typically referred to as fulfillment associates, process orders around the clock.
—Erleia, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
With Atlanta leading by one point with only 11 seconds to go, all basketball protocol and coaching dictates that Hunter should have held on to the ball and waited to be fouled by the Celtics in order to avoid giving possession back with time still left on the clock.
—Sam Joseph, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
John Liu, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The score was only that close because of the last few minutes with Golden State’s deep reserves stumbling out the clock.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
The Pacers then dribbled out the clock to clinch the important win.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024
But the clock appears to be ticking, and the IDF is eager to consolidate its gains.
—Hazem Balousha, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
While the clock is ticking down, legislators can sometimes find creative uses of procedure to revive bills hanging on by a thread.
—Rebecca Grapevine, The Courier-Journal, 26 Mar. 2024
Trent Frederic tied the game with a power-play goal with 4:22 left to play before Pavel Zacha scored the game-winner against Sergei Bobrovsky with 2:21 remaining on the clock.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
In contrast, large retailers have vast industrial warehouses in multiple cities across the country, where teams of employees or contractors, typically referred to as fulfillment associates, process orders around the clock.
—Erleia, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
With Atlanta leading by one point with only 11 seconds to go, all basketball protocol and coaching dictates that Hunter should have held on to the ball and waited to be fouled by the Celtics in order to avoid giving possession back with time still left on the clock.
—Sam Joseph, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the clock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near the clock
Cite this Entry
“The clock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20clock. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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