right on time
43
1.2
- idiom
:
justo a tiempo
- She arrived at the meeting right on time, just as we had planned.
- arrive right on time
- get it right on time
- come right on time
But Best Buy would be right on time with that e-mail at midnight.
- But Best Buy would be right on time with that e-mail at midnight.
- OK, well, I think we're right on time to open it up to questions.
- Somehow I made it like right on time to the minute.
- And then just a matter of fact, when you came, you showed up right on time.
- And Steve is a beautiful man and and he's always, he's always right on time, man.
Examples
-
OK, well, I think we're right on time to open it up to questions.
-
You all made it, and right on time.
-
I showed up right on time.
-
You are right on time.
-
That was the delivery, right on time.
-
If we leave now, we'll be right on time.
Fiction book (2001) -
Right on time as usual.
-
Bosch checked his watch and saw that he was right on time.
Fiction book (2001) -
Eleven o'clock, right on time for a Sunday night.
Fiction book (1996) -
Fifteen minutes later, I walked down the hallways of the Hoonah School, right on time for another day.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
321
1.0
At the expected time
98
2.1
Without delay or at the planned time
78
2.0
Happens at the planned time and is not late
11
2.8
At exactly the planned time
1
3.5
At the exact time expected
Antonyms
How Punctual
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'right' functions as an intensifier meaning 'exactly' and combines with the familiar collocation 'on time' (punctually), so a learner who knows the parts can infer 'at exactly the scheduled time.' This pattern is common across languages and follows standard modifier + time-phrase composition, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase right on time comes from the image of being exactly right 'on' the time, like stepping onto a mark on a clock the moment the bell rings. That's why it means 'punctually'.