timer

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtaɪmɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪmə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *deh₂-der.

Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-

Proto-Indo-European *-mṓ

Proto-Indo-European *dh₂i-mon-

Proto-Germanic *tīmô

Proto-West Germanic *tīmō

Old English tīma

Middle English tyme

English time

Proto-Indo-European *-yósder.

Proto-Italic *-āzios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

English -er

English timer

From time (verb) + -er.

Noun

timer (plural timers)

1. Agent noun of time: someone or something that times.
   1. A device used to measure amounts of time.

      Synonym: timepiece

      start the timer when you hear the gunshot

   2. Any electronic function that causes a device to be able to do something automatically after a preset amount of time.
   3. A person who records the time elapsed in a sporting event.

      Synonym: timekeeper

Derived terms

• autotimer
• chess timer
• eggtimer
• egg timer, egg-timer
• kitchen timer
• sand timer
• self timer
• sprinkler timer
• teletimer
• watchdog timer

Related terms

• all-timer
• two-timer

Descendants

• → Japanese: タイマー (taimā)\
• → Korean: 타이머 (taimeo)
• → Russian: та́ймер (tájmer)
  • → Kazakh: таймер (taimer)
• → Ukrainian: та́ймер (tájmer)

Translations

person

• Bulgarian: хронометрист m (hronometrist)
• Finnish: ajanottaja (fi)
• Greek: χρονομέτρης (el) m (chronométris)

device

• Arabic: مُؤَقِّت m (muʔaqqit) or مُوَقِّت m (muwaqqit)
• Catalan: temporitzador m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 定時器 / 定时器 (zh) (dìngshíqì), 計時器 / 计时器 (zh) (jìshíqì)

• Czech: minutka (cs) f, časovač m
• Danish: nedtællingsur n, timer c
• Dutch: timer (nl) m, eierwekker (nl) m
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: taimer
• Finnish: kello (fi), ajastin (fi)
• French: minuteur (fr) m, commutateur (d'allumage, de temporisation) m, minuterie (fr) f (du four, micro-ondes, bombe) compte-minutes (fr) m
• German: Schaltuhr f, Zeitschaltuhr (de) f
• Greek: χρονομετρητής m (chronometritís)
• Hebrew: טיימר m (táymer)
• Hungarian: időzítő (hu), időmérő (hu), időkapcsoló, percjelző, főzőóra, időjelző (hu), kapcsolóóra
• Icelandic: tímastillir m, tímarofi m
• Italian: timer (it) m, temporizzatore (it) m, contaminuti (it) m
• Japanese: タイマー (ja) (taimā)
• Khmer: កម្មវិធីកំណត់ម៉ោង (kamvithii kɑmnɑt maong)
• Korean: 타이머 (taimeo)
• Māori: inewā
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: timer

  Nynorsk: timer

• Persian: زمان‌سنج (zamân-sanj), تایمر (fa) (tâymer)
• Polish: minutnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: temporizador (pt) m, timer (pt) m
• Romanian: releu de timp n, cronometru (ro) n, cronograf (ro) n, regulator de timp, timpizor n
• Russian: та́ймер (ru) m (tájmer), реле́ вре́мени n (rɛlé vrémeni)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Latin: odbrojavač vremena m

• Spanish: temporizador (es) m
• Swedish: timer (sv) c
• Tagalog: pang-oras
• Thai: เครื่องจับเวลา
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: timimafian

electronic function

• Bulgarian: таймер m (tajmer)
• Finnish: ajastin (fi)
• French: minuterie (fr) f
• German: Timer m
• Italian: timer (it) m, temporizzatore (it) m, contaminuti (it) m
• Portuguese: temporizador (pt) m
• Spanish: temporizador (es) m

timekeeper — see timekeeper

See also

• programmable
• stopwatch
• time switch

Etymology 2

From time (noun) +‎ -er (measurement suffix) or +‎ -er (occupational suffix).

Noun

timer (plural timers) (in combination)

1. One who has done something a certain number of times.

   third-timer

2. One characterized by a certain time or time frame, such as their work hours.

Derived terms

• big-timer
• first-timer
• full-timer
• good-timer
• half-timer
• nine-timer
• old timer
• part-timer
• short-timer
• small-timer
• whole-timer

Related terms

• one-timer

Further reading

• “timer”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.
• “timer”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “timer”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “timer”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.

Anagrams

• Terim, ermit, merit, miter, mitre, remit

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English timer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tajmər/, [ˈtˢɑjmɐ]

Noun

timer c (singular definite timeren, plural indefinite timere)

1. timer

Inflection

Declension of timer

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	timer	timeren	timere	timerne
genitive	timers	timerens	timeres	timernes

Etymology 2

See time (“hour”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tiːmər/, [ˈtˢiːmɐ]

Noun

timer c pl

1. plural indefinite of time

Etymology 3

See time (“to time”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tajmər/, [ˈtˢɑjmɐ]

Verb

timer

1. present tense of time

Interlingua

Verb

timer

1. to dread, fear

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English timer.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

timer m (invariable)

1. timer (device)

   Synonyms: temporizzatore, contaminuti

Anagrams

• merti, metri, mitre, termi, tremi

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

timer m pl

1. indefinite plural of time

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *deh₂-der.

Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-

Proto-Indo-European *-mṓ

Proto-Indo-European *dh₂i-mon-

Proto-Germanic *tīmô

Proto-West Germanic *tīmō

Old English tīma

Middle English tyme

English time

Proto-Indo-European *-yósder.

Proto-Italic *-āzios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

English -er

English timerubor.

Portuguese timer

Unadapted borrowing from English timer.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtaj.meʁ/ [ˈtaɪ̯.meh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtaj.meʁ/ [ˈtaɪ̯.meh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈtaj.meɾ/ [ˈtaɪ̯.meɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈtaj.meʁ/ [ˈtaɪ̯.meχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈtaj.meɻ/ [ˈtaɪ̯.meɻ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtaj.mɛɾ/

• Rhymes: -ajmeʁ, -ajmɛɾ
• Hyphenation: ti‧mer

Noun

timer m (plural timers)

1. timer (device used to measure time)

   Synonym: temporizador

Further reading

• “timer”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026