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Glite Dictionary
to run out of time

to run out of time

136 2.9
Not enough time left to finish something
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : quedarse sin tiempo
  • As the deadline approached, she realized she was going to run out of time to submit her application.
  • run out of time to get
  • We're running out of time now
  • just ran out of time

I think I've run out of time, but I want to leave you with this.

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Examples

  • Yes, I'm running out of time.

    Jack Be Nimble (2022)

  • Plus, they had one more ace in the hole, but they were running out of time.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • But I feel like the days go really quickly and I just run out of time to do anything.

  • Listen, we're running out of time.

    Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

  • Because we're running out of time!

    Premonition (2007)

  • Guys, we're running out of time!

    Madagascar (2005)

  • We're running out of time.

    Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

  • Only three minutes to go now and Newcastle are running out of time.

    Goal! (2005)

  • I'm running out of time.

    The Jacket (2005)

  • We see the crisis on climate and we realize we are running out of time and that we must, we must attack the climate crisis head on.

Synonyms

outta time
vsto run out of time
  • Informal
1 9.1

Having no time left to finish what you need

is the same idea expressed in neutral or standard language

Antonyms

to prolong
96 3.9

To make something last longer

How Urgent

outta time
  • Informal
1 9.1
to run out of time
136 2.9
time is ticking
  • Informal
1 5.4

Surface Forms

run out of time infinitive
ran out of time past
run out of time past participle
running out of time present participle
runs out of time third person singular

Morphology

run + out + of + time

The meaning is derivable from the parts: 'run out' expresses depletion and 'of time' shows what is exhausted, so a learner who knows 'run', 'out', and 'time' can usually infer 'to have no time left'. Because this relies on a phrasal-verb/metaphorical extension of 'run' (depletion rather than literal motion), it is not fully literal in all contexts and is best classified as partially transparent.

Etymology

Run out of time may come from the simple image of an hourglass or a bucket that slowly empties. The parts run out and time show the supply of time is gone, so you have 'no time left' to finish something.