about time
"about-time" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“about time” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Far past the desired time.
Corpus desk
Index EN-about-time · about time · English
about time · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | about time |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “about time” in English
Rare enough to double-check
about time is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for about time, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is about time, spelled A-B-O-U-T- -T-I-M-E.
Definition
- 1Far past the desired time.
- 2Close to the right time.
- 3Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see about, time.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how about time appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Our food has finally arrived. ― (And) about time (too), if you ask me! We've been waiting about 45 minutes for it!
It's about time for the wedding to start, let's run to the church.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.