prime time

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prime-time" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prime time” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The block of programming on television during the middle of the evening, usually between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

Key facts for prime time
PropertyValue
Headwordprime time
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prime time” sits in English frequency

prime time falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for prime time is 10 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for prime time in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is prime time, spelled P-R-I-M-E- -T-I-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The block of programming on television during the middle of the evening, usually between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm.
  2. 2
    The busiest or most important period.
  3. 3
    Maturity; the state at which a person or product will be accepted by the mainstream.
  4. 4
    Spring.
  5. 5
    A new period or time of youthfulness; the beginning of something.

This word in other languages

Hauptsendezeit(Deutsch)

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prime time"?
"prime time" is spelled P-R-I-M-E- -T-I-M-E.
What does "prime time" mean?
As a noun, "prime time" means: The block of programming on television during the middle of the evening, usually between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm.
What language does "prime time" come from?
"prime time" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “prime time”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-I-M-E- -T-I-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list