Meanings
plural races against time
- idiomaticA situation in which something must be done hurriedly, before a deadline.
Scottish curler Eve Muirhead was left facing a race against time to make the first European Tour event of the season after being stung by a wasp.
2011 September 23, “Eve Muirhead fit for Oslo Cup after wasp sting scare”, in BBC News1 more example
Dealing with all the radioactive waste left on site is a slow-motion race against time, which will last so long that even the grandchildren of those working on site will not see its end. The process will cost at least £121bn.
December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The GuardianSynonyms: race against the clock
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA situation in which something must be done hurriedly, before a deadline.
Translations
Czech závod s časem
- závod s časemsituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Dutch race tegen de klok
- race tegen de kloksituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Finnish kilpailla aikaa vastaan
- kilpailla aikaa vastaansituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
French course contre la montre
- course contre la montresituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Hungarian versenyfutás az idővel
- versenyfutás az idővelsituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Italian corsa contro il tempo
- corsa contro il temposituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Polish wyścig z czasem
- wyścig z czasemsituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Portuguese corrida contra o tempo
- corrida contra o temposituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Spanish contrarreloj
- contrarrelojsituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Swedish kamp mot klockan
- kamp mot klockansituation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Yiddish פֿאַרמעסט מיט דער זײַט, פֿאַרמעסט קעגן דער שעה
- פֿאַרמעסט מיט דער זײַט (farmést mit der tsayt)situation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
- פֿאַרמעסט קעגן דער שעה (farmést kegn der sho)situation in which something must be done hurriedly, by a deadline
Cite this entry
race against time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race%20against%20time
“race against time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race%20against%20time. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “race against time,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race%20against%20time.
Source: race against time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.