Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
clock-watching

clock-watching

1 4.1
Looking at the time often because you want to stop work or go home
  • noun
  • /klɑk ˈwɑtʃɪŋ/
  • Informal
translation icon : mirar el reloj
  • After a long week, clock-watching became a habit as she anticipated the weekend.

Examples

  • His constant clock-watching made it hard to focus on the lecture he was attending.

  • This is when I do most of my clock-watching; I'm not going to lie.

    Blog text (21)

  • She noticed her clock-watching during the last hour at work, eager for the day to end.

How Often

clock-watching
  • Informal
1 4.1
glance
222 1.4

Surface Forms

clock-watching singular
clock-watchings plural

Morphology

clock-watching = clock + watch (transparent) = clock + watch + ing

Formed from the compound elements 'clock' + 'watch' with the productive verbal/noun suffix '-ing' to denote the activity of watching the clock.

Etymology

Clock-watching comes from two simple words: clock 'a thing that shows the time' and watch 'to look', and watch is also the name of a 'small clock' you wear. So clock-watching means 'looking at the time again and again, often because you are waiting for work or an event to finish'.