about time
60
4.9
- idiom
- Informal
- After all these delays, it's about time we finished this project.
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Watch on YouTubeRemember, it's your life and it's about time we start addressing what truly matters.
- Remember, it's your life and it's about time we start addressing what truly matters.
- And it's about time that people woke up, as you said.
- And my son stopped what he was doing and he looked at me and he said, it's about time you stood up for yourself, Mom.
Examples
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It's about time you woke up, man.
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It's about time you showed up, Mr. Gru.
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It's about time they saw someone different.
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It's about time you said you were glad to see me.
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You know, I think it's about time for you to leave, Jack.
Fiction book (2000) -
After 7 LONG years, it was about time they started working on their relationship.
Blog text (10) -
It's about time you gave up on that stupid dream once and for all.
Fiction book (1999) -
And it's about time that people woke up, as you said.
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Yes, it's about time they made a wallet that fits the curve of your pocket.
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Well, you know, it's about time someone recognized my true potential.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Shows you are impatient because something happened late
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal meanings of 'about' (approximately) and 'time' (a moment or period) give a loose cue to a temporal sense, but the fuller pragmatic meaning — that something is belated and ought to have happened sooner — is an idiomatic, evaluative use not directly predictable from the constituents. Because the temporal cue helps but the emphatic/critical nuance requires conventionalized use (though many languages have similar constructions), this item is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
About time comes from the image of someone waiting and watching the clock; when something happens 'about' the right time after a long wait, people say about time to show it was late. That's why today about time means 'finally' or that something 'should have happened sooner'.