timekeeper

[ tahym-kee-per ]

noun

1. a person or thing that keeps time. times.
2. an official appointed to time, times, regulate, and record the duration of a sports contest or its component parts, as to give the official time times of a race, assure that a round of boxing is ended exactly on time, times, or announce to football, basketball, hockey, etc., teams the amount of time times left to play.
3. a timepiece:

   This watch is a good timekeeper.

4. a person employed to keep account of the hours of work done by others.
5. a person who beats time times in music.

timekeeper

/ ˈtaɪmˌkiːpə /

noun

1. a person or thing that keeps or records time
2. an employee who maintains a record of the hours worked by the other employees
3. a device for indicating time; timepiece
4. an employee with respect to his or her record of punctuality

   a good timekeeper

Derived Forms

• ˈtimeˌkeeping, noun

Other Words From

• timekeeping noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of timekeeper¹

First recorded in 1680–90; time + keeper

Example Sentences

On one level, a main timekeeper, head judge and team leader scrutinize footage from the main camera.

From Los Angeles Times

Scientists use tiny minerals called zircons as geologic timekeepers.

From Science Daily

The effect is that global timekeepers may need to subtract a second from our clocks later than would otherwise have been the case.

From BBC

This question of how to situate our time in the narrative arc of Earth history has thrust the rarefied world of geological timekeepers into an unfamiliar limelight.

From Seattle Times

As the group’s timekeeper, Jordan maintains a steady if recognizably human pulse beneath it all,” Wood wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• timer