behind time
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Late or past a scheduled time
Literally: at the back of a clock
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The train was ten minutes behind time because of heavy snow.Chuyến tàu bị trễ 10 phút vì tuyết quá dày.
Tatoeba sentence #275812 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “behind time” mean?
Late or past a scheduled time Literally: at the back of a clock
Is “behind time” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.