beat the clock

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Idioms and Phrases

Finish something or succeed before time is up, as in The paper went to press at five o'clock, and they hurried to beat the clock . The term comes from various sports or races in which contestants compete within a certain time limit.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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