ride the clock

verb

To leave one's workplace covertly without clocking out, thus continuing to be paid.

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Meanings

verbride the clock (third-person singular simple present rides the clock, present participle riding the clock, simple past rode the clock, past participle ridden the clock)

present singular third person rides the clock · participle present riding the clock · past rode the clock · participle past ridden the clock

  1. To leave one's workplace covertly without clocking out, thus continuing to be paid.

    […] everyone was doing what he paid us to do, rather than gossip, goof off and ride the clock, things we often did instead.

    2015, Lorraine Stephens, The Black Man Drought, page 39
    1 more example

    Complainant and his wife both complained to Mr. Cooper about employees "riding the clock," that is being clocked in, but not being at work.

    1984, Decisions - Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
Cite this entry
APA

ride the clock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ride%20the%20clock

MLA

“ride the clock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ride%20the%20clock. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ride the clock,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ride%20the%20clock.

Source: ride the clock on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.