the clock

noun

1

: a clock that is used in sports and that shows how much time remains for a particular part of a game

They were winning by 2 points with 10 seconds (left) on the clock.

They stopped the (game) clock with eight seconds remaining.

2

: a special clock that is used to record the times when an employee starts and stops working : time clock

I punched the clock at 8:45 and started working right away.

3

chiefly British : a device that shows how far a vehicle has traveled

a car with 100,000 miles on the clock

Examples of the clock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once on the clock, however, the trade fell through. —Michael Silver, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Midnight arrives like a quiet agreement between you and the clock. —Jason Phillips, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026

Our security agencies share intelligence around the clock through the Five Eyes alliance. —Stephen Doughty, Boston Herald, 27 Apr. 2026

Five days a week, and sometimes weekends, the herding dogs punch the clock and go to work clearing birds and woodland creatures from the mountaintop airfield at CRW. —Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for the clock

• alcock
• beanstalk
• bedrock
• boardwalk
• catwalk
• cornstalk
• crosswalk
• deadlock
• feedstock
• fetlock
• flintlock
• goshawk