clock : Idioms & Phrases


against the clock

  • adverb as fast as possible; before a deadline
    against time.
    • it was a race against the clock
WordNet

Alarm clock

  • noun a clock that wakes a sleeper at some preset time
    alarm.
WordNet
  • . See under Alarm.
Webster 1913

Alarm clock or watch

  • a clock or watch which can be so set as to ring or strike loudly at a prearranged hour, to wake from sleep, or excite attention.
Webster 1913

ammonia clock

  • noun an atomic clock based on vibrational frequency of the nitrogen atom in the ammonia molecule
WordNet

analog clock

  • noun a clock that displays the time of day by the position of hands on a dial
WordNet

around the clock

  • adverb without stopping
    for 24 hours; around the clock.
    • she worked around the clock
WordNet

around-the-clock

  • adjective satellite at all times
    around-the-clock; day-and-night; nonstop.
    • around-the-clock nursing care
WordNet

Astronomical clock

  • . (a) A clock of superior construction, with a compensating pendulum, etc., to measure time with great accuracy, for use in astronomical observatories; called a regulator when used by watchmakers as a standard for regulating timepieces. (b) A clock with mechanism for indicating certain astronomical phenomena, as the phases of the moon, position of the sun in the ecliptic, equation of time, etc.
Webster 1913

atomic clock

  • noun a timepiece that derives its time scale from the vibration of atoms or molecules
WordNet

Beat of a watch, ∨ clock

  • the stroke or sound made by the action of the escapement. A clock is in beat or out of beat, according as the strokes is at equal or unequal intervals.
Webster 1913

biological clock

  • noun an innate mechanism in living organisms that controls the periodicity of many physiological functions
WordNet

caesium clock

  • noun an atomic clock based on the energy difference between two states of the caesium nucleus in a magnetic field
WordNet

Calendar clock

  • one that shows the days of the week and month.
Webster 1913

clock dial

  • noun the face of a clock showing hours and minutes of the day
    clock dial.
WordNet

clock face

  • noun the face of a clock showing hours and minutes of the day
    clock dial.
WordNet

clock golf

  • noun a form of golf in which you putt from positions arranged on the circumference of a circle around the hole
WordNet

clock in

  • verb register one's arrival at work
    clock in; punch in.
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clock off

  • verb register one's departure from work
    clock off; punch out.
WordNet

clock on

  • verb register one's arrival at work
    clock in; punch in.
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clock out

  • verb register one's departure from work
    clock off; punch out.
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clock pendulum

  • noun a physical pendulum used to regulate a clockwork mechanism
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clock radio

  • noun a radio that includes a clock that can be set to turn it on automatically
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clock time

  • noun a reading of a point in time as given by a clock
    time.
    • do you know what time it is?
    • the time is 10 o'clock
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clock tower

  • noun a tower with a large clock visible high up on an outside face
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clock up

  • verb record a distance travelled; on planes and cars
    log up.
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clock watcher

  • noun a worker preoccupied with the arrival of quitting time
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clock-watching

  • noun paying excessive attention to the clock (in anticipation of stopping work)
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Cuckoo clock

  • noun clock that announces the hours with a sound like the call of the cuckoo
WordNet
  • a clock so constructed that at the time for striking it gives forth sounds resembling the cry of the cuckoo.
Webster 1913

digital clock

  • noun a clock that displays the time of day digitally
WordNet

Electric clock

  • noun a clock using a small electric motor
WordNet
  • . (a) A clock moved or regulated by electricity or electro-magnetism. (b) A clock connected with an electro-magnetic recording apparatus.
Webster 1913

Equation clock ∨ watch

  • a timepiece made to exhibit the differences between mean solar and apparent solar time. Knight.
Webster 1913

Flower clock

  • an assemblage of flowers which open and close at different hours of the day, thus indicating the time.
Webster 1913

grandfather clock

  • noun a pendulum clock enclosed in a tall narrow case
    grandfather clock.
WordNet

Jack-of-the-clock

  • a figure, usually of a man, on old clocks, which struck the time on the bell.
Webster 1913

longcase clock

  • noun a pendulum clock enclosed in a tall narrow case
    grandfather clock.
WordNet

off-the-clock

  • adverb overtime without extra compensation
    • she often has to work off-the-clock
WordNet

pendulum clock

  • noun a clock regulated by a pendulum
WordNet

Polar clock

  • a tube, containing a polarizing apparatus, turning on an axis parallel to that of the earth, and indicating the hour of the day on an hour circle, by being turned toward the plane of maximum polarization of the light of the sky, which is always 90° from the sun.
Webster 1913

round the clock

  • adverb without stopping
    for 24 hours; around the clock.
    • she worked around the clock
WordNet

round-the-clock

  • adjective satellite at all times
    around-the-clock; day-and-night; nonstop.
    • around-the-clock nursing care
WordNet

round-the-clock patrol

  • noun a continuous nonstop patrol
WordNet

shepherd's clock

  • noun weedy European annual with yellow flowers; naturalized in United States
    goatsbeard; meadow salsify; Tragopogon pratensis.
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Ship's clock

  • (Naut.), a clock arranged to strike from one to eight strokes, at half hourly intervals, marking the divisions of the ship's watches.
Webster 1913

Sidereal clock

  • an astronomical clock regulated to keep sidereal time.
Webster 1913

Sidereal clock, day, month, year

  • . See under Clock, Day, etc.
Webster 1913

spacecraft clock time

  • noun the clock time given by a clock carried on board a spacecraft
    SCLK.
WordNet

system clock

  • noun a time-of-day clock in a computer system
  • noun an electronic device in a computer that issues a steady high-frequency signal that synchronizes all the internal components
WordNet

time clock

  • noun clock used to record the hours that people work
WordNet

To regulate a watchclock

  • to adjust its rate of running so that it will keep approximately standard time.
Webster 1913

Turret clock

  • noun a clock with more than one dial to show the time in all directions from a tower
WordNet
  • a large clock adapted for an elevated position, as in the tower of a church.
Webster 1913

wall clock

  • noun a clock mounted on a wall
WordNet

Watch clock

  • a watchman's clock; see under Watchman.
Webster 1913

Watchman's clock

  • a watchman's detector in which the apparatus for recording the times of visiting several stations is contained within a single clock.
Webster 1913

water clock

  • noun clock that measures time by the escape of water
    clepsydra; water glass.
WordNet
Wa"ter clock`
Definitions
  1. An instrument or machine serving to measure time by the fall, or flow, of a certain quantity of water; a clepsydra.
Webster 1913