it's about time
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
something should have happened earlier
Literally: concerning the current time
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
It's about time you stopped watching television.Đến lúc tắt ti vi rồi đó.
Tatoeba sentence #31558 (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 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “it's about time” mean?
something should have happened earlier Literally: concerning the current time
Is “it's about time” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.