kill the clock

kill the clock

In sports, to protect a lead by using up as much possible time that remains in a game or match without giving the opposing team a chance to score, generally by maintaining a passive or defensive strategy. With just a narrow two-point lead, the home team is trying to kill the clock to hold out for a win. I don't know, Jim, there's a lot of game time left for them to start killing the clock.

See also: clock, kill

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

kill

1. tv. to be very successful with an audience; to perform very well for an audience. She really killed them with that last joke.

2. tv. to eat all of something; to drink all (of a bottle) of something. We finally killed the last of the turkey.

3. tv. to douse a light. Would you kill the light so they can’t see we’re home?

4. tv. to stop or terminate something; to quash a story; to stop a story from being printed in a newspaper. Kill that story. It’s got too many errors.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

kill

/run down/run out the clock

Sports To preserve a lead by maintaining possession of the ball or puck until playing time expires.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.