time will tell

(Only) time will tell.

Prov. You will only know the outcome after time has passed. Jill: Do you think Bill and Nancy will have a happy marriage? John: Only time will tell. I'm not sure yet if our advertising campaign was a success. Time will tell.

See also: tell, time

Time will tell.

Something will become known in the course of time. I don't know if things will improve. Time will tell. Who knows what the future will bring? Only time will tell.

See also: tell, time

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Time will tell.

something that you say which means that the result of something will be clear after a period of time I don't know if this marriage will work, but time will tell. Only time will tell if the business will be successful.

See bide time, have a lot of time for, kill time, mark time, pass the time of day, play for time

See also: tell, time

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(only) time will tell

it is necessary to wait to find out something Farmers are experimenting with a new type of corn, and only time will tell whether it's better than the old one.

See also: tell, time