clock

clock¹ W3S2 [klɔk US kla:k] n

[Date: 1300-1400; : Middle Dutch; Origin: clocke 'bell, clock', from Medieval Latin clocca 'bell', from a Celtic language]

1.) an instrument that shows what time it is, in a room or outside on a building

▪ The clock on the church tower said nine o'clock.

▪ I lay there listening to the clock ticking .

▪ Mary set her alarm clock for 6:30 am (=made sure it would ring at 6:30) .

▪ My clock stopped and I didn't wake up in time.

▪ I heard the clock strike six .

by the hall/kitchen/church etc clock

(=according to a particular clock)

▪ What time is it by the kitchen clock?

the clock is slow/fast

(=the clock is showing an earlier or later time than the real time)

▪ The station clock was ten minutes slow.

wind (up) a clock

(=turn a key in a clock so that it keeps working)

set a clock by sth

(=change the time on a clock according to the time on the television, radio etc)

▪ I set my clock by the 6 o'clock news.

clock face

(=the front part of a clock)

→↑alarm clock, ↑carriage clock, ↑cuckoo clock, ↑grandfather clock

→watch the clock at ↑watch¹ (8)

2.) around the clock also round the clock

BrE all day and all night without stopping

▪ Kim has been working round the clock to finish it in time.

3.) put/turn the clock back

a) also set the clock back AmE

to go back to the way things were done in the past instead of doing things in a modern way - used in order to show disapproval

▪ The new employment bill will put the clock back fifty years.

b) to return to a good situation that you experienced in the past or to make someone remember such a situation

▪ The kids are all grown up now and you can't put the clocks back .

4.) put the clock(s) back/forward

BrE to change the time shown on the clock to one hour earlier or later, when the time officially changes

5.) the clocks go back/forward

BrE the time changes officially to one hour earlier or later

▪ The clocks go back in October.

6.) against the clock

a) if you work against the clock, you work as quickly as you can because you do not have much time

▪ Everyone is racing against the clock to get things ready in time.

b) if you run, swim etc against the clock, you run or swim a particular distance while your speed is measured

7.) twenty-four hour clock

a system for measuring time in which the hours of the day and night have numbers from 0 to 23

8.) start/stop the clock

to start or stop measuring how much time is left in a game or sport that has a time limit

9.) the clock

a) an instrument in a vehicle that measures how far it has travelled

on the clock

▪ a car with 43,000 miles on the clock

b) an instrument in a vehicle that measures the speed at which it is travelling

10.) run out the clock/kill the clock

AmE if a team runs out the clock at the end of a game, it tries to keep the ball for the rest of the game so that its opponents cannot get any points

→↑biological clock, ↑body clock, ↑dandelion clock, ↑time clock

clock ²

clock² v [T]

1.) to cover a distance in a particular time, or to reach a particular speed in a race

▪ Karen won in the 300 metres, clocking 42.9 seconds.

▪ the first steam engine to clock 100 miles an hour

2.) to measure or record the time or speed that someone or something is travelling at

clock sb at/doing sth

▪ The police clocked him doing between 100 and 110 miles per hour.

3.) BrE informal to notice someone or something, or to look at them carefully

▪ Did you clock the bloke by the door?

4.) BrE to reduce the number of miles or kilometres shown on the instrument in a car that says how far it has gone, in order to sell the car for more money

▪ He knew the car had been clocked, but he couldn't prove it.

clock in/on phr v

to record on a special card the time you arrive at or begin work

American Equivalent: punch in

▪ I clock on at 8:30.

clock off phr v

1.) informal to leave work at the end of the day

▪ What time do you clock off?

2.) to record on a special card the time you stop or leave work

▪ At this time a lot of service workers would be clocking off.

clock out phr v

to record on a special card the time you stop or leave work

American Equivalent: punch out

clock up [clock up sth] phr v

to reach or achieve a particular number or amount

▪ The Dodgers have clocked up six wins in a row.

▪ I clocked up 90,000 miles in my Ford.

▪ Councillor Scott has clocked up more than 25 years on the borough council.