timeout

or time-out

[ tahym-out ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural time·outs.

a brief suspension of activity; intermission or break.
Sports. a short interruption in a regular period of play during which a referee or other official stops the clock so that the players may rest, deliberate, make substitutions, etc.
a short time alone used as a punishment or consequence for a child who is misbehaving.
Computers.
1. the termination of a process or event that is taking longer than expected to proceed, and that is more likely to be successful if relaunched, resubmitted, etc.
2. the severing of an online connection after a period of inactivity, as when a user is logged out of a secure session on a webpage after a fixed period of time.

Origin of timeout¹

First recorded in 1870–75; time ( def ) + out ( def )

"We took a blow and had a timeout and I looked down around where we were standing and what I looked at was amazing," he said.

A “timeout truce” in the campaign cash arms race neither limits free speech nor requires new legislation.

And how about guzzling from the water bottle during a timeout as if he was the only one who was thirsty?

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