time-out

nounattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//ˈtaɪm.aʊt//

A short break in the action of a sport, for substitution, consultation, etc.

noun

1
A short break in the action of a sport, for substitution, consultation, etc.
We're being beaten! We need a time-out!
2
A break from a tense, heated or stressful situation (often enforced, sometimes as a disciplinary measure); a cooling-off period.
I'm going to take a brief time-out from this job.
Hitting people is not acceptable! Go to your room and take a time-out!
As punishment, my mom gave me a 15-minute time-out.
3
informalA perhaps temporary break in a relationship.
4
The abortion of an incomplete task after a time limit considered long enough for it to end normally.

Etymology

From time + out.

Forms

plural: time-outs

TIM · A nickname for the speaking clock.timber · Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.time · The inevitable progression into the future with the passing…

time-out · A short break in the action of a sport, for substitution, consultation, etc.

timed · Happening at a certain time.timeless · Eternal.timeline · A graphical representation of a chronological sequence of…

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.