What does stopwatch mean?
A stopwatch is a portable timing device that measures elapsed time between a start and a stop. Unlike an ordinary watch, which is primarily used to display the current time, a stopwatch is activated at the beginning of an event and stopped when the measured interval ends. It is especially common in athletics, swimming, cycling, competitive events, cooking, laboratory work, and everyday activities such as timing a task. Digital stopwatches often provide lap timing, split timing, and displays with fractions of a second, while traditional stopwatches use a mechanical or quartz movement. The word combines “stop” and “watch,” reflecting its basic function: a watch that can be stopped and started. Its compact, precise timing function makes it a familiar and useful object wherever accurate measurement of short periods matters.
nounA small portable watch with a hand or digital display that can be started and stopped at the press of a button, used for measuring elapsed time.
- A handheld or wearable device used to measure elapsed time by being started and stopped.
"The sprinter started the stopwatch as soon as the race began."
"The officials used a stopwatch to record each runner’s finishing time."
"She glanced at the stopwatch and realised that the interview had run over."
The standard plural adds “-es” to the base form.
"The judges checked their stopwatches before the final heat."
A stopwatch turned a simple watch into an instrument for measuring seconds, making it one of sport’s essential timekeepers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stopwatch come from?
The compound stopwatch developed in English during the 18th century from “stop” and “watch,” both of which are considerably older words. The combination referred to a watch whose mechanism could be started and stopped to measure elapsed time. The element “watch” also connects the word with related forms such as watcher, watchful, and watchman, which share the older Germanic and Old English ancestry of that component.
How stopwatch is actually used
Common in sport, athletics, cooking, laboratory work, and other situations requiring an interval to be measured. In British English, the longer spelling with two t’s is standard; the word is also spelled the same way in American English.
Easily confused with stopwatch
A watch displays the current time, whereas a stopwatch is designed to measure a specific interval and can be started and stopped.
A timer may count down to a preset moment, while a stopwatch generally measures an interval that begins when it is started.