Meaning & use
Clock-watch
Last updated
To repeatedly check the time, especially out of impatience or eagerness for a task or period to end.
See it in a sentence
By three o'clock, half the office was clock-watching, waiting for the meeting to end.
New employees quickly learn not to clock-watch too obviously during their first week.
A note on using this word
The related noun "clock-watcher" describes an employee seen as more interested in quitting time than in the work itself.
Words with a similar meaning
watch the clock
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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