all the time
∞
1.0
- idiom
:
todo el tiempo
- Uh, yeah, all the time when I was a kid.
- talk all the time
- happen all the time
- say all the time
But, but being asleep all the time is difficult.
- But, but being asleep all the time is difficult.
- And I asked myself all the time why I do that.
- I get bored with stories all the time, so stop.
- You said that the moon is bombarded all the time with helium three.
- I'm sure I'm sure I don't keep calm all the time and that's OK.
- Were you guys going out all the time, becoming vampires?
- My manager, who I also tell all the time, thank you.
- I was angry all the time and I didn't know why.
Examples
-
I find myself thinking about the project all the time, even when I should be resting.
-
I feel like I say that all the time.
-
It's going on all the time now.
-
And I asked myself all the time why I do that.
-
And I say to people all the time, words matter.
-
I tell young people all the time it's not about me.
-
We used to play here all the time.
-
How are we not talking about this all the time?
-
This is why all these kids are playing video games all the time.
-
It happens to me all the time.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
On every occasion without exception
∞
1.0
Happens many times
∞
1.0
At all times, on every occasion
∞
1.0
During the whole day without stopping
740
1.0
Very often or all the time without stopping
476
1.0
Happening many times in a short time
403
1.5
During the whole time from the start
382
1.0
It happens again and again
193
1.0
During the whole day without stopping
139
2.9
Happening again and again over time, often with short breaks
95
2.3
Happens without stopping or pausing
65
2.2
Happens again and again for many days in a row
59
3.0
Happens all day and all night without stopping
57
4.2
Always in every situation without change
45
2.9
During the whole time that something is happening
37
3.6
Happens every day for a long time in the same boring way
33
3.4
Every day for a long time without any change
29
4.8
Happening all the time without stopping
28
4.8
In a way that lasts a long time, often with illness or other problems
22
6.3
In a way that continues without stopping for a long time
6
5.4
Happens every year or for a long time
2
6.6
In a way that does not stop
2
4.1
Happens every week in the same way for a long time
1
2.5
All the time without stopping
1
5.8
Without stopping for a long time
1
4.3
Happens again and again at regular times
Antonyms
How Often
∞
1.0
740
1.0
476
1.0
∞
1.0
438
2.0
539
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'continuously; always' is directly and compositionally derived from 'all' (the whole) + 'time' (continuous moments), with 'the' functioning as a determiner. This quantifying construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'todo el tiempo', French 'tout le temps'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase all the time comes from the image of a clock that never stops. If a clock runs all the time, it never stops, so the phrase means 'always'.