race against time
8
4.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
carrera contra el tiempo
- With only hours left before the deadline, it felt like a race against time to complete the project.
Examples
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But we were in a race against time.
Academic text (2009) -
Whenever a fire starts, it's a race against time.
Blog text (7) -
Like I said, they were on a race against time.
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Now, it's a race against time.
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It's a race against time.
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To win the race against time, coalition forces will need to address four issues.
Academic text (2011) -
It's a race against time until splashdown...
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So the idea here is that a startup is essentially a race against time to reduce risk and create value.
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It was now a race against time to get the Spitfire finished.
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Finally, the Moon Mission cooperative board game is a race against time as players work together to retrieve damaged instruments scattered across the lunar landscape.
Academic text (2007)
Synonyms
12
3.8
Working quickly to finish something before a deadline
12
4.2
A short time when people must work very hard to finish something
10
4.2
When you have very little time you need to hurry
7
3.7
Trying to finish something before time runs out
A struggle to finish something before time runs out
Antonyms
How Urgent
∞
1.3
- Informal
8
4.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The metaphor is directly built from 'race' (to move or act quickly) + 'against' (in opposition to) + 'time' (the available span), so a learner can infer an urgent contest with time to finish something. This composition is a straightforward spatial/metaphorical mapping found in many languages, making the intended meaning predictable for a B1 learner who knows the parts.
Etymology
Race against time is like a race where your opponent is time, as if you must run faster than a clock. So, it means 'an urgent situation when you must finish something before it is too late'.