timeout
time·out/ˈtaɪm.aʊt/noun
timeout is spelled T-I-M-E-O-U-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables (time·out). It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “time-out vs timeout” about 20 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, timeout means “The allowed maximal time for a process to end normally” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of timeout is timeouts.
How many letters and syllables are in timeout?
| Letters | 7: T-I-M-E-O-U-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: time·out |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,073rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is timeout?
Timeout appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce timeout?
- /ˈtaɪm.aʊt/
Timeout has 2 syllables, split time·out in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-timeout.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with timeout
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: time-out (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of timeout
- timeouts plural
- time out
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does timeout mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The allowed maximal time for a process to end normally.
- 2
The intentional termination of an incomplete task after a time limit considered long enough for it to end normally.
My connection was so slow that I kept receiving timeouts when trying to view Web pages.
- 3
Alternative form of time-out.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Timeout in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Timeout, Zeitbeschränkung , Zeitüberschreitung |
| Spanish | caducación |
| Portuguese | estouro, timeout |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does timeout come from?
From time + out.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).