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mark time

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Acronyms 0.04 sec.
mark time
Fig. to wait; to do nothing but wait. I'll just mark time till things get better. Do you expect me to just stand here and mark time?
See also: mark, time

mark time
to do something which is not very interesting while you are waiting to start doing something more important (usually in continuous tenses) She's just marking time in her father's shop until it's time to go to university.
See also: mark, time

mark time
to not do anything important while you wait Mrs. Jamison marked time while waiting to take up her new job.
Related vocabulary: tread water
Etymology: based on the military phrase mark time (to march in the same place, moving your legs up and down without going forward)
See also: mark, time


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? References in classic literature
Perry consulted an elaborate watch, constructed to mark time to the fifth of a second, and answered Geoffrey, with his eye all the while on Mrs.
 
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