time suck

noun

variants or time-suck
plural time sucks or time-sucks
informal : an activity to which one devotes a lot of time that might be better or more productively spent doing other things
Yes, it's no secret that Twitter can be a tremendous time-suck. But imagine getting paid for wasting those precious minutes of your day.Sean Gregory
The electronic plate would update automatically to show your current registration. This is mildly convenient for regular folks but super convenient for fleets. Gingerly applying stickers to dozens of cars seems like it would be a real time-suck.Kyle Hyatt
Adversity can inspire great art, but it can also be a time suck. For more than twenty years, Matthew Covey has been helping musicians and other artists deal with government paperwork.Betsy Morais

Examples of time suck 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.
How to find the best innerspring mattress for you Mattress shopping can become a huge time suck if you get caught up comparing every tiny detail. Renee Cherry, SELF, 26 Oct. 2024 According to Amazon, the task of searching for packages at each stop amounts to a significant time suck for drivers tasked with delivering goods to more than 100 customers each day. Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019 For families, the long waits are at best a stressful time suck and at worst a work disruptor. Kendra Hurley, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2024 In a movie theatre, such distention of its narrative would likely be a drag and feel like a time suck. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024 As if modern travel wasn't enough of a soul-crushing time suck, the 3.4 oz. Venus Wong, refinery29.com, 30 Jan. 2024 The scope of the argument, the expansiveness of the coming opinions and the time suck for the justices to write them and the possible vanishing of Trump’s prosecution are not at all shocking. Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 1 May 2024 Preparing for these trials and dealing with the civil lawsuits against him, it's been a gigantic time suck for him. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 One standout is, of course, Chocobo Racing, which makes its return as the single most addictive time suck from the OG game there is. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of time suck was in 1991

Dictionary Entries Near time suck

Cite this Entry

“Time suck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time%20suck. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!