garbage time

noun

US, sports

: the final moments or minutes of a game in which one side has an insurmountable lead, substitutes often enter the game in place of starting players, and scoring is typically easier because of looser defensive play

… the forgotten foursome of Greg Kite, Fred Roberts, Sam Vicent and Conner Henry will be on call in case of extreme emergency and those meaningless minutes appropriately referred to as garbage time.—

Gerry Finn

One touchdown was all the Broncos' D allowed, and that came in garbage time.—

Paul Zimmerman

Examples of garbage time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Then again, the Chiefs’ entire game was garbage time. —

Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 10 Feb. 2025 James entered the game during garbage time and played a few minutes before the contest ended. —

Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 25 Jan. 2025 But in the second half, the 6-foot-10 forward is mostly relegated to the sideline, grasping at garbage time and early fourth-quarter rotations. —

Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2025 Key stat The Pistons made 13 of their first 19 shots in the fourth quarter (68.4%) before missing twice in garbage time. —

Dave Hogg, Chicago Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for garbage time