tell time
idiom
US
: to be able to know what time it is by looking at a clock
My son is just learning to tell time.
Examples of tell time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These devices tell time, track fitness, and boost productivity.
—
Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024
Montblanc Technically, watches are no longer essential to tell time and mechanical sports watches certainly aren’t needed as survival tools.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 22 Dec. 2023
Even folks who do drop five figures on watches tend to want something that’ll still tell time (and hold its value) in a couple of decades.
—Umar Shakir, The Verge, 2 Oct. 2023
Its luminescent hands and indexes are designed to tell time even in the dark.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 27 Sep. 2023
The exact dates of Passover change every year because the Hebrew calendar is not the same as the calendar used to tell time now.
—Holly Rizzuto Palker, Parents, 17 Sep. 2023
The tradition of using balls to tell time has been around for centuries, dating back to the early 1800s.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
This was before watches or cell phones, so the ball dropping was the primary way to tell time.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
During the trip, he was mesmerized by the view — and by Lane’s ability to tell time by the sun.
—Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 28 July 2023
Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024
Montblanc Technically, watches are no longer essential to tell time and mechanical sports watches certainly aren’t needed as survival tools.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 22 Dec. 2023
Even folks who do drop five figures on watches tend to want something that’ll still tell time (and hold its value) in a couple of decades.
—Umar Shakir, The Verge, 2 Oct. 2023
Its luminescent hands and indexes are designed to tell time even in the dark.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 27 Sep. 2023
The exact dates of Passover change every year because the Hebrew calendar is not the same as the calendar used to tell time now.
—Holly Rizzuto Palker, Parents, 17 Sep. 2023
The tradition of using balls to tell time has been around for centuries, dating back to the early 1800s.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
This was before watches or cell phones, so the ball dropping was the primary way to tell time.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023
During the trip, he was mesmerized by the view — and by Lane’s ability to tell time by the sun.
—Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 28 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tell time.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tell time
Cite this Entry
“Tell time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20time. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share