Dictionary

make good time en · VERB

Meanings

1. To proceed at a good pace.
   • From Belgrade the train is hauled by a 2-10-0, and makes good time through undulating country, with vineyards and herds of woolly pigs, over single line to Nish, where the Sofia and Istanbul portion, including through coaches (until recently) from Prague to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is detached. 1951 November, 'Pausanias', “To Greece by the "Simplon-Orient Express"”, in Railway Magazine, page 731:
   • On the morrow we should reach the kingsroad. We'll make good time after that, straight up to the Twins. It's going to be me who hands you over to that mother of yours. 2000 August 8, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, “”, in A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; 3), London: Voyager, →ISBN, page 545:
   • We want to make good time; to keep a brisk pace; to get to the post office and back. People yank their dogs along, tugging at leashes to get noses out of smells, pulling past tempting dogs, to get on with the walk. 2010, Alexandra Horowitz, Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know:
   • Juneau was making good time with the other surviving U.S. Navy ships, despite her damage, when the I-26 spotted her and sent a salvo of Type 95 torpedoes in her direction. Passing between the Helena and San Francisco, some indication being they had actually been shot at the San Francisco and gone long because San Francisco was travelling significantly slower than expected, they nonetheless hit Juneau and detonated the ship's magazine. 2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 28:10 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 07 Nov 2022:
   • We had departed at night so there wasn't much to see even though we were heading south. The next morning was a bright sunny day with fair winds. The ride was going good and we made good time. It wasn't long before we were south enough that the water was the prettiest of blue and the sea life was different. 2010, Glenn Dorhn, From Moonshine to Maritime, page 31:
2. To arrive in good time.
3. To use one's time efficiently.

Forms