01 · idiom
around the clock
Definition: all day and all night without stopping
Example: “The support team works around the clock.”
Forms: fixed adverbial idiom
Synonyms: continuously, day and night
idiom vocabulary
Idioms about Time
Use idioms selectively and in the right register. Meaning, context, and tone matter more than quantity.
Featured word or expression
around the clock
Definition: all day and all night without stopping
Example: “The support team works around the clock.”
Word forms and grammar
fixed adverbial idiom
Synonyms and close meanings
continuously, day and night
Related vocabulary
Learn these words as a connected set, then write one original sentence with each item.
against the clockat the eleventh hourin the long runonce in a blue moontime flieswatch the clock
Complete learning list
9 words and expressions
Definitions, examples, and audio pronunciation
02 · idiom · Time
Against the clock
Definition: To be rushed and have very little time to do something.
Example: “We were working against the clock to finish the report by the deadline.”
03 · idiom · Time
At the eleventh hour
Definition: At the last possible moment.
Example: “They reached an agreement at the eleventh hour.”
04 · idiom · Time
Beat the clock
Definition: To finish something just before the deadline.
Example: “She managed to beat the clock and submit her application just in time.”
05 · idiom · Time
Call it a night
Definition: To stop an activity for the rest of the night.
Example: “It's getting late. I think I'm going to call it a night.”
06 · idiom · Time
In the nick of time
Definition: At the last possible moment.
Example: “The ambulance arrived in the nick of time to save him.”
07 · idiom · Time
Kill time
Definition: To do something to occupy yourself while waiting for something to happen.
Example: “We have an hour before our flight, so let's go to the cafe to kill time.”
08 · idiom · Time
Once in a blue moon
Definition: To happen very rarely.
Example: “I only see my old school friends once in a blue moon.”
09 · idiom · Time
Turn back the hands of time
Definition: To go back to the past.
Example: “If I could turn back the hands of time, I would do things differently.”
Quick vocabulary quiz
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Usage and accuracy
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