timer
part of speech
noun (a timer, timers)
meaning for a pupil
1) A timer is a device that measures how much time passes and often rings or beeps when a set time is over, like a kitchen timer. tree →
2) A timer can also turn a machine on or off automatically at a set time. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths and science lessons, a timer or stopwatch measures how long things take in experiments and races; in class, a sand timer shows how long you have left. In cooking: set the timer for 20 minutes. In everyday life: oven timers, heating timers, game timers. Phrases: set a timer, the timer goes off, sand timer, egg timer.
examples
- Set the timer for ten minutes. tree →
- The timer beeped, so the cookies were ready. tree →
- We used a timer to see who could run fastest. tree →
- The teacher turned over the sand timer. tree →
- The heating comes on with a timer. tree →
- The egg timer has sand in it. tree →
- When the timer goes off, it is time to tidy up. tree →
- My phone has a timer for brushing my teeth. tree →
note
Countable. A timer counts down (or up) a time; a clock shows what the time is now. Maths: if the timer is set for 15 minutes at 3:50, it rings at 4:05.
In the corpora
- For simple jobs with live data, such as timers and weather, voice assistants are usually useful.
- Fair rules, like a timer for turns, stop the same argument happening again.
- Sharing is a skill: take turns, use a timer, or find a game you can both play.
- They set a timer for ten minutes each, then decide to run a pretend restaurant together.
- When a sibling wants the same toy, take turns, use a timer or find a game to play together.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «timer» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.