How to Use time-out in a Sentence

time-out

noun
  • Those two minutes in a time-out decades ago still guide how Richards leads today.
    — Jasmine Browley, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • The father leaves his gun within easy reach of the kids, and the mother grabs glassy-eyed time-outs in the car.
    — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
  • Both of these non-sung time-outs are astonishingly good.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 27 May 2026
  • That’s with two new coaches in the league, including one new coach who never called a time-out.
    — Brian Robin, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Each team will now get have an opportunity to possess the ball and each will get three time-outs.
    — Breanne L. Heldman, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024
  • The Lakers were up by one again, with just three seconds left, and the Bulls had no time-outs.
    — Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2025
  • There's the more old-fashioned way of disciplining which involves time-outs and things like that.
    — Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
  • There's the more old-fashioned way of disciplining which involves time-outs and things like that.
    — Janine Rubenstein, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
  • With the duel tied at 88-88, the Aces called time-out with five seconds left.
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 10 Dec. 2025
  • With the duel tied at 88-88, the Aces called time-out with five seconds left.
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 9 Dec. 2025
  • For instance, time-out reminders, focus modes and little nudges to take breaks can make a difference.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
  • In an operating room, for example, anyone can call a time-out.
    — Caitlin Rivers, Foreign Affairs, 2 July 2024
  • Should you be caught working, you will be picked up and thrown into the fully functional dungeon for a ten-minute time-out.
    — Weike Wang, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
  • What all those albums had in common was how those artists offered at least occasional time-outs from the trauma.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Oct. 2025
  • That time-out was just what was needed to establish that her show isn’t too masterfully polished.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
  • Later flights and those from smaller airports are more susceptible to crew time-out issues.
    — Zach Wichter, USA Today, 1 May 2025
  • The structured time-out catches the escalation window before the body takes over.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • The 32-year-old can be seen in the clip sprinting away from a secondary stage at the event while making a time-out gesture with his hands.
    — EW.com, 16 Oct. 2024
  • As the story progresses, Muffin steals her dad’s phone after she’s put in time-out for hogging the table.
    — Vanessa Armstrong, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2024
  • Buffalo had no time-outs and the ball at the Dolphins’ 11-yard line with 11 seconds left in the half.
    — Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2024
  • Run opposing guards into the ground, step on the gas harder, and force your opponents into spending catch-your-breath time-outs.
    — Brian Robin, Oc Register, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Depending on the severity, this might be a time-out from communication or even a complete cut-off.
    — Dominique Fluker, Essence, 20 May 2024
  • The world simply can’t afford another four-year time-out from aggressive climate action.
    — Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2023
  • With Dallas not possessing any more time-outs, Jackson knelt out the victory.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 23 Sep. 2024
  • But what, or rather who, was in the containers continues to spark outrage due to claims that special needs children were placed in them during time-out sessions.
    — James Powel, USA Today, 26 Dec. 2025
  • The performance had a time-out as concertgoers drew Clarkson’s attention to a patron who had passed out on the packed floor area.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Apr. 2023
  • The ball remained in play as Craig stayed on the floor for a few moments before Suns coach Monty Williams called a time-out.
    — Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2023
  • And some biz owners have struggled to set up accounts due to time-out errors and unclear instructions, per a local Reddit thread of gripes about it.
    — Karri Peifer, Axios, 26 Feb. 2025
  • From first time-out called, to number of receiving yards, catches, sacks; odds are, there's odds on everything this Super Bowl.
    — Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2024
  • Vang’s punishments typically included time-outs that required Elijah to stand in the corner for up to three hours at a time.
    — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'time-out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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