Dictionary

kill time en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Meanings

1. The time it takes for something to kill something else.

Forms

Synonyms

time to kill

kill time en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Meanings

1. (informal, intransitive) To engage in an activity whose only purpose is to make the time seem to pass more quickly; to fill the time between activities.
   • Mrs. Autumn […] lay in bed always till it was very late this being one of those happy expedients for killing time (as the fashionable phrase is) which, to discover, employs the inventions of persons of rank and fortune. 1758, Charlotte Lennox, Henrietta, London: A. Millar, Volume 2, Book 4, Chapter 3, p. 129:
   • She had nothing better to do, so she went to the bowling alley to kill time.
   • I had no intention of delivering my letter at the present moment, nor have I. But strolling on to the Bank to kill time, and having the good fortune to observe at the window […] a lady of a very superior and agreeable appearance, I considered that I could not do better than take the liberty of asking that lady where Mr. Bounderby the Banker does live. 1854, Charles Dickens, “Effects In The Bank”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC, 2nd book (Reaping), page 144:
   • 1982, Adele Geras, The Green behind the Glass (U.S. title: Snapshots of Paradise), Lions Teen Tracks, She’s up there now, thought Bella, up in that freezing studio, killing time till the child comes home, mooning, dreaming, turning disjointed thoughts over in her head, and we'll pay for it.
   • You were still out, so she drove back downtown and went to a movie to kill time until after midnight, when she thought she’d be more likely to find you in. 1930, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 12, in The Maltese Falcon, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, pages 137–138:
   • The night air was passably cool and he strolled through the town at a measured pace, killing time till bedtime. 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 14:
   • This was uneventful, except that I found myself consistently running in front of a fairly comfortable schedule, and after trying No. U.1 out on the bank from Creil to Survilliers with great success, had to kill some 8min time gained on the descent, a task which proved impossible, even though we were stopped opposite La Chapelle. 1961 March, ""Balmore"", “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives”, in Trains Illustrated, page 151:

Forms

Deriveds

kill-time

Relateds

killing time · time killer · time to kill · chronocide · waste time

Translations (34)

cmn 打發時間 /打发时间 (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · az vaxt öldürmək (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · hu elüti az időt (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · cmn 殺時間 /杀时间 (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · ko 시간을 보내다 (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · ja 時間をつぶす (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · fr tuer le temps (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · vi giết thời gian (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · az başını qatmaq (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · ca fer temps (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · th ฆ่าเวลา (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · it ingannare il tempo (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · es matar el tiempo (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · pl zabić czas (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · vi giết thì giờ (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · kk уақыт өлтіру (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · pt matar o tempo (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · aeb قَصِّر الوَقت (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · cmn 挨時間 /挨时间 (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · ro omorî timpul (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · no slå ihjel tid (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · is drepa tímann (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · tr vakit öldürmek (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · sv döda tid (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · sv fördriva tid (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · pl zabijać czas (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · ru убива́ть вре́мя (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · el σκοτώνω τον καιρό (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · fi tappaa aikaa (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · sv slå ihjäl tid (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · ru уби́ть вре́мя (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · de Zeit totschlagen (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · gl matar o tempo (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important) · fr passer le temps (make time seem to pass more quickly by doing nothing important)