time-outs

plural of time-out
as in winters
a period of often involuntary inactivity or idleness we need to take a time-out from our relationship to think things over

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for time-outs
Noun
  • Mowing Cool-Season Grass If your winters are snowy, your grass is likely a cool-season variety, such as Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, or perennial ryegrass.
    Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Oct. 2025
  • In areas with mild winters, parsley may survive all season, bringing fresh flavor to cold-weather meals.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • At this level, the EPA advises sensitive groups to take more breaks and do less intense activities when outside.
    Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The lawsuit claims workers were not paid for pre-shift and post-shift activities, or for work performed during their meal breaks.
    Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Figuring how to avoid similar lulls in key moments will be another critical offseason task.
    Ben Pickman, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The bursts of action punctuate these lulls and sync perfectly with the intro song, Shortchange Hero (by The Heavy).
    G Kirilloff, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In the unofficial demo, the humanoid responds to voice commands slowly and takes awkward pauses.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Their words will have bolstered his belief, giving him the confidence to show for and collect the ball again in the defensive third just after the break, using a combination of touches and pauses to evade Brentford pressure before making a more assured sideways pass this time.
    Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Meanwhile, the threat of layoffs looms for many government workers.
    The Editors, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Vought, who helped write the policy blueprint known as Project 2025, is playing a major role during the shutdown, including on decisions over whether there are mass layoffs of federal employees instead of furloughs and what funding is cut and what is allowed to flow.
    Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The average response time for phone calls dropped to 6 minutes from 30 minutes in the prior fiscal year; field office wait times decreased to 23 minutes; and removal of online service downtimes has benefited an additional 125,000 users in a single week, according to the agency's findings.
    Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Any interruptions to basic research, such as changes to financial supports or institutions, may threaten future discoveries and potential payoffs for years to come.
    Ryan Summers, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
  • For the most part, essential federal services continue during a government shutdown, but if the shutdown stretches on, delays and interruptions in federal aid, air travel and other services are likely.
    Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 1 Oct. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Time-outs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/time-outs. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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