screen time

noun

1

: the amount of time someone or something appears on screen in a movie or television show

… the widespread practice of product placement (in which companies buy screen time for their brands) …

—Celia Wren

Peck's role is only a cameo—23 minutes of screen time scattered through six and a half hours of edited film …

—John Skow

2

: time spent watching television, playing a video game, or using an electronic device with a screen (such as a smartphone or tablet)

Concerns about children spending too much time on digital devices—'screen time'—and becoming overdependent on these devices are very real for many teachers and parents.

—Nicky Hockly

If yours is like most American families with kids under age 5, your child probably watches between three and four hours of television a day. That's a lot of screen time …

—Debra Kent

Examples of screen time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tucci, who thankfully gets a lot more screen time here, understands the assignment and plays the patron saint in a waistcoat with aplomb. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2026

Kara Alaimo is a professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University and advises parents, students and teachers on how to manage screen time. —Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026

Back on the Katina, Betul — who, bless her soul, has had about two minutes’ worth of screen time this season, despite being an audience favorite — doesn’t feel well and decides not to go out. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2026

At a time when parents worry over how much screen time their kids have, Jane Wiseman fondly looks back on a childhood spent obsessed with TV and movies. —Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for screen time

• airtime
• bedtime
• daytime
• downtime
• enzyme
• halftime
• lifetime
• longtime
• lunchtime
• mealtime
• meantime
• nighttime