Meaning & use
time wasting
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Meanings
noununcountable
The act of using time in a way that is not useful or productive, often by delaying or doing unimportant things.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it does not take 'a' or a plural: say 'time wasting is a problem', not 'a time wasting'.
Patterns
- time wasting on something
- accuse someone of time wasting
The manager criticized the team for time wasting during the meeting.
Time wasting at work can lead to missed deadlines.
He was accused of time wasting when he kept checking his phone.
adjectivebefore a noun
Describing an activity or action that uses time without achieving anything useful.
Grammar: Used before a noun: 'time-wasting activities'. It is not usually used after a verb like 'be'.
Patterns
- time-wasting activity
- time-wasting exercise
The meeting turned into a time-wasting exercise.
She tried to avoid time-wasting tasks and focus on important work.
It was a time-wasting habit that he needed to break.
Common combinations
- accuse someone of time wasting
- The supervisor accused him of time wasting when he took long breaks.
- time wasting exercise
- Filling out those forms felt like a time wasting exercise.
- time wasting habit
- Scrolling through social media is a common time wasting habit.
- avoid time wasting
- Good planning helps you avoid time wasting.
- reduce time wasting
- The new software is designed to reduce time wasting in the office.
Synonyms and how they differ
- procrastination
- Procrastination specifically means delaying tasks you should be doing, while time wasting can be any unproductive use of time, not necessarily delaying something important.
- dawdling
- Dawdling suggests moving or acting slowly, often in a childish way; time wasting is broader and can include any unproductive activity.
- inefficiency
- Inefficiency is a more formal word for wasting resources, including time; it often implies a system problem rather than personal behavior.
Opposites
Word family
- time-waster noun
- A person or thing that wastes time.
- waste time phrase
- To use time badly or for no purpose.
Commonly confused: time wasting or waste of time?
time wasting vs waste of time
A 'waste of time' is a thing or activity that is not worth doing, while 'time wasting' is the act of using time unproductively.
Practice
The boss told the employees to stop ____ and get back to work.
Choose one answer.
After 'stop', we need a noun or gerund. 'Time wasting' works as an uncountable noun meaning the activity. 'Waste time' is a verb phrase and would need 'stop wasting time', not 'stop waste time'. 'Time wasted' is passive and doesn't fit the active sense. 'Wasting times' is not a standard phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “time wasting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.