sands of time

noun

Time that is considered as a finite commodity that is gradually running out, as the sand in an hourglass.

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Meanings

nounthe sands of time pl (plural only)
  1. literarypluralplural onlyTime that is considered as a finite commodity that is gradually running out, as the sand in an hourglass.

    […] And, departing, leave behind us / Footprints on the sands of time […]

    1838 October, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life. […]”, in Voices of the Night, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, published 1839, →OCLC, stanza 7, page 7
Cite this entry
APA

sands of time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sands%20of%20time

MLA

“sands of time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sands%20of%20time. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sands of time,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sands%20of%20time.

Source: sands of time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.