timer

[tahy-mer]

noun

1. a person or thing that times. times.

2. a person who measures or records time. times.

3. a device for indicating or measuring elapsed time, times, as a stopwatch.

4. a device for controlling machinery, appliances, or the like, in a specified way at a predetermined time: times.

   Please put the roast in the oven and set the timer to cook it for two hours.

5. (in an internal-combustion engine) a set of points actuated by a cam, which causes the spark for igniting the charge at the instant required.

timer

/ ˈtaɪmə /

noun

1. a device for measuring, recording, or indicating time

2. a switch or regulator that causes a mechanism to operate at a specific time or at predetermined intervals

3. a person or thing that times

Word History and Origins

Origin of timer¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; time + -er ¹

Example Sentences

But then, Rinaudo recalls, “An old timer said, ‘What are you doing that for?

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In effect, it’s a daily serial with a built-in countdown timer.

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Yet, order can also appear in a far more surprising way -- on its own, without any external timer.

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Both newcomers and old timers love its sense of community; they get to know their neighbors, and frequent mom-and-pop shops that have been in the area for decades.

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LinkedIn has the honor of being the sole surviving social media left on my phone, which has a timer set for less than 15 minutes a day.

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Related Words

• timepiece 
• wristwatch