Baseball & American Football a moment at which play stops temporarily within a game: the umpire called time 3 [ mass noun ] time as allotted, available, or used: we need more time it would be a waste of time informal a prison sentence: he was doing time for fraud 4 an instance of something happening or being done; an occasion: this is the first time I have got into debt the nurse came in four times a day an event, occasion, or period experienced in a particular way: she was having a rough time of it 5 ( times ) (following a number) expressing multiplication: eleven times four is forty-four 6 [ mass noun ] the rhythmic pattern of a piece of music, as expressed by a time signature: tunes in waltz time the tempo at which a piece of music is played or marked to be played. verb 1 [ with object and adverbial or infinitive ] plan, schedule, or arrange when (something) should happen or be done: the first track race is timed for 11.15 the bomb had been timed to go off an hour later erform (an action) at a particular moment: Williams timed his pass perfectly from about thirty yards 2 [ with object ] measure the time taken by (a process or activity, or a person doing it): we were timed and given certificates according to our speed [ with clause ] : I timed how long it took to empty that tanker 3