to waste one's time
- phrasal verb
:
perder el tiempo
- Find something you like instead of wasting your time following people you don't like.
I I don't waste anyone's time.
- I I don't waste anyone's time.
Examples
-
If you continue to argue about this, you'll just waste your time instead of finding a solution.
-
You see how one may waste one's time.
Fiction book (1994) -
Why do you waste your time playing college tennis?
-
Don't waste your time trying to make friends with him.
-
Why am I wasting my time in some snobby office helping old men get a date?
-
Stop wasting your time.
-
You're wasting your time.
-
Instead of scrolling through social media, you should focus on your studies and not waste your time.
-
Don't waste your time on activities that do not bring you joy or fulfillment.
Synonyms
888
1.5
Spend time without any activity
728
1.6
To spend time doing things that are not useful instead of doing something more useful
67
6.5
To use money, time, or chances in a foolish way
43
3.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
7
6.2
To spend time doing little or nothing instead of working
5
7.0
To sit or lie in a lazy, relaxed way
5
7.9
To waste time by delaying when you should act
5
3.8
To relax and do very little
4
6.0
Waste time or money on small unimportant things
3
6.3
Spend time waiting without making progress, doing unproductive things
3
7.9
Spend time doing very little or nothing
2
7.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
2
8.6
To spend time doing very little and moving around without plans
2
7.9
To waste time and effort without making progress
1
9.2
To spend time doing small unimportant things instead of working
1
7.7
To spend time doing nothing and not working
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
1
3.4
To spend time lazily doing little or nothing
1
3.2
To spend time doing nothing
1
6.5
To spend time or money in a wasteful way
1
9.9
To waste time doing unimportant or silly things instead of doing something important
1
9.9
To waste time doing silly or lazy things instead of useful work
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
To waste time doing small, unimportant things
To waste time, money, or chances on things that do not matter
To spend time idly on unimportant things
Spend time or money on unimportant things
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
To waste time on busy work and make no progress
To pass time by doing something not useful while you wait
To waste time instead of doing something useful
To waste time instead of working
How Productive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'waste' (to squander or use poorly) with 'time' (a span available for tasks); the possessive 'one's' simply indicates whose time is affected. This is a transparent, compositional verb + object pattern common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.
Etymology
Waste one's time comes from a simple picture: to waste something is to throw it away, and people imagine time like water or money you can pour down a drain. So, it means 'to spend time doing things that are not useful'.