to beat the clock
4
3.9
- idiom
:
cumplir con el plazo
- He checked the time and realized he needed to hurry to beat the clock before the deadline.
- trying to beat the clock
Examples
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Students who want to take one of Kaplan's English language courses should try to beat the clock and contact Kaplan before September 30th in order to book their learning experience before course prices increase on October 1st.
Blog text (28) -
You can't beat the clock, Riggs.
Fiction book (1998) -
All we need to do is beat the clock by one second.
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How did you beat the clock?
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Do not try to beat the clock today!
Blog text (28) -
I beat the clock then!
Fiction book (1997) -
So, when you beat the clock, you do something before the deadline.
Blog text (28) -
I thought, with great delight, that I had beaten the clock.
Academic text (1997) -
Around here, there's one question on everybody's mind: will local hero Gary Noble be able to beat the clock once again in his surprising comeback bid?
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We have to work quickly if we want to beat the clock and finish the project on time.
Synonyms
22
3.2
Finish a task or project by the time it is due
Antonyms
How Early
4
3.9
22
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to finish before time runs out' is based on a metaphorical extension of 'beat' (to defeat) applied to 'clock' (time), so a learner who knows both words can often infer the sense as 'defeat the clock' or 'win against time'. However, this requires a metaphorical leap rather than straightforward compositionality, and while cross-linguistic equivalents exist, the exact phrasing and usage are somewhat idiomatic, making it only partially transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Beat the clock comes from sports and game shows where a real clock counts down and players must beat it by finishing a task before the time ends. So it now means 'to finish before time runs out'.