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mark time

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mark time

Fig. to wait; to do nothing but wait. I'll just mark time till things get better. Do you expect me to just stand here and mark time?

See also: mark, time

mark time

to not do anything important while you wait Mrs. Jamison marked time while waiting to take up her new job.

Related vocabulary: tread water

Etymology: based on the military phrase mark time (to march in the same place, moving your legs up and down without going forward)

See also: mark, time

mark time

to do something which is not very interesting while you are waiting to start doing something more important (usually in continuous tenses) She's just marking time in her father's shop until it's time to go to university.

See also: mark, time

mark time

Wait idly for something to occur, as in We were just marking time until we received our instructions. This idiom alludes to the literal meaning of marching in place to the time, or beat, of music. [Early 1800s]

See also: mark, time

mark time

tv. to wait; to do nothing but wait. Do you expect me to just stand here and mark time?

See also: mark, time

mark time

1. To move the feet alternately in the rhythm of a marching step without advancing.

2. To suspend progress for the time being; wait in readiness.

3. To function in an apathetic or ineffective manner.

See also: mark, time