Mean time or meantime?
mean time is a noun meaning “A mean (average) amount of time”; meantime is a noun meaning “The time spent waiting for another event; time in between”. mean time is written as two words and meantime as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between mean time and meantime?
| mean time | meantime | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, adverb |
| Meaning | A mean (average) amount of time Synonym of solar time | The time spent waiting for another event; time in between During the interval; meanwhile |
| Example | mean time between failures | We'll come back asap; just wait here for the meantime |
| Forms | none | meantimes |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈmiːntaɪm/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 11 times per million words |
Sources: mean time and meantime in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of mean time and meantime
mean time
- 1
A mean (average) amount of time
mean time between failures
- 2
Alternative form of meantime
- 3
Synonym of solar time
meantime
- 1
The time spent waiting for another event; time in between
We'll come back asap; just wait here for the meantime
- 2
During the interval; meanwhile
Repairs will be done tomorrow so meantime restrain from using the bath
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, mean time or meantime?
mean time is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; meantime 11 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search mean time vs meantime?
“mean time vs meantime” is searched about 90 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“meantime vs mean time”, “mean time or meantime”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.