in record time
- idiom
- Cross has scored in record time!
- finished in record time
- arrived in record time
- dressed in record time
Examples
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But because each person worked on the wall in front of their house... ... they got it done in record time.
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First and foremost, the key to getting through security in record time is to travel light and loose.
Blog text (30) -
Made it in record time.
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So I did something that allowed me to get through in record time.
Blog text (25) -
In record time, I might add.
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You want them to focus and implement a known solution in record time.
Blog text (15) -
Anna drove home in record time.
Fiction book (1998) -
It was built in record time.
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We accomplished our mission, reaching Tinian in record time with zero casualties.
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He completed the marathon in record time, setting a new personal best.
Synonyms
Very quickly, in a short time
To happen or be done very quickly
Happen very fast
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'in record time' is directly compositional: 'record' (the best/fastest achievement) modifies 'time', and the preposition 'in' indicates 'within' that time span, so the meaning 'extremely quickly / faster than before' can be inferred from the constituents. This construction is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'en tiempo récord') and follows straightforward noun-modifier + preposition patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily understand it.
Etymology
The phrase in record time comes from sports and contests, where people write a record next to a competitor's time when it is the 'best'. So, to do something in record time means to finish 'very quickly', often faster than before.