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
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Recent Examples of time-outs
Run opposing guards into the ground, step on the gas harder, and force your opponents into spending catch-your-breath time-outs.
—
Brian Robin, Oc Register, 28 Jan. 2026
What all those albums had in common was how those artists offered at least occasional time-outs from the trauma.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Oct. 2025
Brian Robin, Oc Register, 28 Jan. 2026
What all those albums had in common was how those artists offered at least occasional time-outs from the trauma.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for time-outs
Noun
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Meanwhile, relentless Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have left millions grappling with blackouts and heating outages during one of the coldest winters in years.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
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Warmer winters and earlier blooms can alter nectar availability, occasionally creating a mismatch between flower timing and bird arrival.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In the Big Apple, water main breaks are a dime a dozen, especially during this time of year.—
Andrew Ramos,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2026
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Fox quickly sold out its Daytona inventory, with more advertisers lining up to secure double-box breaks, the format that allows the network to present commercial messaging side-by-side with live racing.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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There were some lulls in the second half of the season, but the Seahawks rounded into form toward the end of the regular season.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2026
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The segment was a gloriously chaotic tribute to Italy’s successes across the arts, and carried the tone even through slower lulls like a call for peace by rapper Ghali, featuring the aforementioned Theron cameo.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In the Heated Rivalry season finale, this seclusion shapes many defining (and tension-heavy) moments between the pro-hockey-playing protagonists, from free-flowing conversations in the living room to cuddles around the firepit and deep, reflective pauses by the water.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Feb. 2026
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Shawn joins us a moment later, and he is reserved, not hostile but preternaturally wary, measuring out his words with pauses and deference cut with self-possession.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Outside Washington, the classical music industry suffers the usual ups and downs, shocks and bumps, with layoffs at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and a reduced season ahead.—
Philip Kennicott,
Washington Post,
20 Feb. 2026
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In late 2024 and early 2025, following Nissan’s financial downturn that resulted in more than 9,000 global layoffs and a 20% reduction in manufacturing throughput, Nissan entered into merger negotiations with its Japanese industry counterpart.—
Stuart Dyos,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
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That reduces interruptions during development workflows.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Feb. 2026
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Damages often reflect medical needs, work interruptions, and the aftermath of the incident.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Time-outs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/time-outs. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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