INDEX:
1. happening or arriving at the arranged time
2. someone who is always on time
3. when something happens before it is too late
4. to finish a piece of work within the time that is allowed for it
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ LATE
see also
↑ TIME
↑ LATE
↑ EARLY
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1. happening or arriving at the arranged time
▷ on time /ɒn ˈtaɪm/ [adverb]
▪ The trains don’t always arrive on time.
▪ The company will lose money if the work isn’t completed on time.
▪ Did Philip pay up on time?
on time for
▪ I hate not being on time for class.
▷ right on time /ˌraɪt ɒn ˈtaɪm/ [adverb]
exactly on time :
▪ Gary turned up right on time, holding a big bouquet of flowers.
▪ Ah, Mrs Shields, you’re right on time!
▷ bang/dead on time /ˌbæŋ, ˌded ɒn ˈtaɪm/ [adverb] British informal
exactly on time :
▪ The baby arrived on the 16th -- bang on time!
▪ He looked at his watch. He was dead on time.
▷ promptly/punctually /ˈprɒmptliǁˈprɑː-, ˈpʌŋktʃuəli/ [adverb]
if you do something punctually or promptly, you do it at the time that you arranged to do it :
▪ Linda always pays her rent promptly on the 1st of the month.
▪ Loretta arrived punctually at her office the next day at ten o'clock.
▷ on cue /ɒn ˈkjuː/ [adverb]
if you do something on cue, you do it exactly at the moment when other people expect you to do it :
▪ Jim told one of his terrible jokes and everyone laughed on cue.
as if on cue
▪ ‘Ashley should be here soon’, said Jo, and as if on cue, there was a knock at the door.
right/bang on cue
▪ We were looking out over the sea when, right on cue, the dolphins appeared.
▷ on the dot /ɒn ðə ˈdɒtǁ-ˈdɑːt/ [adverb]
at 6.30/ten o'clock/ seven etc on the dot
at 6.30, ten o'clock etc exactly :
▪ He gets annoyed if his lunch isn’t ready at one o'clock on the dot.
▪ I expect you to arrive at 7:30 on the dot.
2. someone who is always on time
▷ punctual /ˈpʌŋktʃuəl/ [adjective]
someone who is punctual always arrives or does things when they are supposed to :
▪ Dinner is served at seven: please try to be punctual.
▪ Our clients are usually punctual -- you would be too if you were paying $10 a minute.
punctuality /ˌpʌŋktʃuˈælɪti, ˌpʌŋktʃuˈæləti/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Punctuality is not one of my strong points, I must admit.
▪ Cadets are taught discipline, neatness and punctuality.
3. when something happens before it is too late
▷ in time /ɪn ˈtaɪm/ [adverb]
▪ David said he’d take me to the concert, if he’s home in time.
▪ If you don’t leave enough space between your car and the car in front, you may not be able to stop in time.
in time to do something
▪ Don’t worry, I’ll be back in time to cook dinner.
▪ She’s hoping to be out of hospital in time to celebrate her birthday at home.
in time for
▪ Do you think you’ll be fit in time for Saturday’s race?
▷ just in time /ˌdʒʌst ɪn ˈtaɪm/ [adverb]
happening or done in time, but almost too late :
▪ She put her foot on the brakes just in time.
just in time to do something
▪ He got to the airport just in time to catch the flight to Madrid.
just in time for
▪ Come in. You’re just in time for a cup of coffee.
only just in time
British
▪ We were only just in time. A few more minutes and the bank would have been closed.
▷ in the nick of time /ɪn ðə ˌnɪk əv ˈtaɪm/ [adverb] informal
just in time to prevent something bad from happening - often used in stories :
▪ Radio contact was established in the nick of time and we managed to transmit a message to the ship.
just in the nick of time
▪ She escaped from her smoke-filled home just in the nick of time.
▷ not a moment too soon /nɒt ə ˌməʊmənt tuː ˈsuːn/ [adverb]
just in time to prevent something very bad from happening :
▪ The ambulance finally arrived, not a moment too soon.
▷ at the last minute /ət ðə ˌlɑːst ˈmɪnə̇tǁ-ˌlæst-/ [adverb]
if something happens at the last minute, it happens at the latest possible time, just before it is too late :
▪ An American businessman stepped in at the last minute to rescue the company.
▪ Realizing its error at the last minute, the magazine just managed to correct the offending headline.
▷ at the eleventh hour /ət ði ɪˌlev ə nθ ˈaʊəʳ/ [adverb]
if something happens at the eleventh hour, it happens at the latest possible time, just before it is too late - use this when you had almost given up hoping that something would happen :
▪ War was averted at the eleventh hour when both sides agreed to talks.
eleventh-hour [adjective only before noun]
▪ Fernandez waits on Death Row, hoping for an eleventh-hour reprieve.
▷ catch /kætʃ/ [transitive verb]
to manage to do something, talk to someone, see something etc just before it is too late :
▪ I managed to catch her just as she was leaving the office.
catch the post
British post letters etc in time for them to be collected that day
▪ The letters were all addressed and stamped, and there was still plenty of time to catch the post.
catch the news/a TV programme etc
▪ She was rushing to catch her favorite show on TV.
▷ cut it fine British /cut it close American /ˌkʌt ɪt ˈfaɪn, ˌkʌt ɪt ˈkləʊs/ [verb phrase]
to have very little time left before you have to be somewhere or do something, so that you are almost late :
▪ Kelly had 10 minutes to reach the studio -- even in normal traffic that was cutting it close.
cut it a bit fine
▪ You’re cutting it a bit fine aren’t you? The show starts in 2 minutes.
cut it pretty close
▪ We cut it pretty close - we only had 30 minutes to get to the airport.
▷ before it’s too late /bɪˌfɔːʳ ɪts tuː ˈleɪt/
use this to tell or warn someone to do something now in order to prevent something bad from happening that they will not be able to change later :
▪ You’d better get that letter back from her somehow, before it’s too late.
▪ We are urging the government to stop the bombing now, before it’s too late.
4. to finish a piece of work within the time that is allowed for it
▷ meet a deadline /ˌmiːt ə ˈdedlaɪn/ [verb phrase]
to finish some work within the time that you have been allowed to do it, especially when it is very important that it is done by that time :
▪ Journalists have to work very quickly in order to meet their deadlines.
▪ Without extra help, it’s going to be very difficult to meet the Friday deadline.
▷ on schedule /ɒn ˈʃedʒuːlǁ-ˈskedʒʊl/ [adjective/adverb phrase]
if a piece of work, especially a piece of work that continues for a long time, is finished on schedule, it is done within the time that has been allowed for it to be done :
▪ The builders were lazy and failed to finish the boat on schedule.
be on schedule
▪ So far we are on schedule and the project should come to an end in two months, as planned.