Clock vs. Time — What's the Difference?

A device for measuring and indicating time.

The indefinite continued progress of existence and events.

Can be analog, digital, or atomic, depending on the mechanism.

A dimension in which all physical events occur.

Reflects technological advancements in time measurement.

Independent of human perception, yet fundamental to it.

Requires setting and maintenance to accurately display time.

Quantifies durations and intervals between events.

Used in various settings for scheduling and timekeeping.

Measured and segmented into units like hours, minutes, and seconds.

A clock is a device used to measure, verify, keep, and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units: the day, the lunar month, and the year.

Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compare the duration of events or the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change of quantities in material reality or in the conscious experience.

An instrument other than a watch for measuring or indicating time, especially a mechanical or electronic device having a numbered dial and moving hands or a digital display.

The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole

A time clock.

A point of time as measured in hours and minutes past midnight or noon

A source of regularly occurring pulses used to measure the passage of time, as in a computer.

Time as allotted, available, or used

Any of various devices that indicate measurement, such as a speedometer or a taximeter.

An instance of something happening or being done; an occasion

A biological clock.

(following a number) expressing multiplication

The downy flower head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.

The rhythmic pattern of a piece of music, as expressed by a time signature

An embroidered or woven decoration on the side of a stocking or sock.

Plan, schedule, or arrange when (something) should happen or be done

To time, as with a stopwatch

Measure the time taken by (a process or activity, or a person doing it)

To register or record with a mechanical device

(of a computer or a program) cancel an operation automatically because a predefined interval of time has passed without a certain event happening

(Informal) To strike or hit (someone) forcefully, especially in the face.

A nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future.

To record working hours with a time clock

An interval separating two points on this continuum; a duration

To be measured or registered, especially at a certain speed or rate. Often used with in

A number, as of years, days, or minutes, representing such an interval

An instrument that measures or keeps track of time; a non-wearable timepiece.

A similar number representing a specific point on this continuum, reckoned in hours and minutes

(attributive) A common noun relating to an instrument that measures or keeps track of time.

A system by which such intervals are measured or such numbers are reckoned

(British) The odometer of a motor vehicle.

Often times An interval, especially a span of years, marked by similar events, conditions, or phenomena; an era

(electronics) An electrical signal that synchronizes timing among digital circuits of semiconductor chips or modules.

Times The present with respect to prevailing conditions and trends

The seed head of a dandelion.

A suitable or opportune moment or season

A time clock.

Periods or a period designated for a given activity

A CPU clock cycle, or T-state.

Periods or a period necessary or available for a given activity

(uncountable) A luck-based patience or solitaire card game with the cards laid out to represent the face of a clock.

A period at one's disposal

A pattern near the heel of a sock or stocking.

One of several instances

(transitive) To measure the duration of.

Times Used to indicate the number of instances by which something is multiplied or divided

(transitive) To measure the speed of.

One's lifetime.

To hit (someone) heavily.

One's period of greatest activity or engagement.

(slang) To take notice of; to realise; to recognize someone or something.

A person's experience during a specific period or on a certain occasion

(transgender slang) To identify someone as being transgender.

A period of military service.

To falsify the reading of the odometer of a vehicle.

A period of apprenticeship.

To beat a video game.

(Informal) A prison sentence.

(transitive) To ornament (e.g. the side of a stocking) with figured work.

The customary period of work

To make the sound of a hen; to cluck.

The period spent working.

To hatch.

The hourly pay rate

A machine for measuring time, indicating the hour and other divisions; in ordinary mechanical clocks for domestic or office use the time is indicated on a typically circular face or dial plate containing two hands, pointing to numbers engraved on the periphery of the face, thus showing the hours and minutes. The works of a mechanical clock are moved by a weight or a spring, and it is often so constructed as to tell the hour by the stroke of a hammer on a bell. In electrical or electronic clocks, the time may be indicated, as on a mechanical clock, by hands, but may also be indicated by direct digital readout, with the hours and minutes in normal Arabic numerals. The readout using hands is often called analog to distinguish it from the digital readout. Some clocks also indicate the seconds. Clocks are not adapted, like the watch, to be carried on the person. Specialized clocks, such as atomic clocks, may be constructed on different principles, and may have a very high precision for use in scientific observations.

The period during which a radio or television program or commercial is broadcast

A watch, esp. one that strikes.

The rate of speed of a measured activity

The striking of a clock.

The meter of a musical pattern

A figure or figured work on the ankle or side of a stocking.

The rate of speed at which a piece of music is played; the tempo.

A large beetle, esp. the European dung beetle (Scarabæus stercorarius).

Chiefly British The hour at which a pub closes.

To ornament with figured work, as the side of a stocking.

(Sports) A time-out.

To call, as a hen. See Cluck.

Of, relating to, or measuring time.

A timepiece that shows the time of day

Constructed so as to operate at a particular moment

Measure the time or duration of an event or action or the person who performs an action in a certain period of time;

Payable on a future date or dates.

Of or relating to installment buying

To set the time for (an event or occasion).

To adjust to keep accurate time.

To adjust so that a force is applied or an action occurs at the desired time

To record the speed or duration of

To set or maintain the tempo, speed, or duration of

To speculate based on the anticipated short-term performance of (a market)

(uncountable) The inevitable progression into the future with the passing of present and past events.

A dimension of spacetime with the opposite metric signature to space dimensions; the fourth dimension.

Change associated with the second law of thermodynamics; the physical and psychological result of increasing entropy.

The property of a system which allows it to have more than one distinct configuration.

A duration of time.

(uncountable) A quantity of availability of duration.

(countable) A measurement of a quantity of time; a numerical or general indication of a length of progression.

The serving of a prison sentence.

(countable) An experience.

(countable) An era; (with the, sometimes in plural) the current era, the current state of affairs.

Time out; temporary, limited suspension of play.

An instant of time.

(uncountable) How much of a day has passed; the moment, as indicated by a clock or similar device.

(countable) A particular moment or hour; the appropriate moment or hour for something (especially with prepositional phrase or imperfect subjunctive).

(countable) A numerical indication of a particular moment.

(countable) An instance or occurrence.

Closing time.

The hour of childbirth.

(as someone's time) The end of someone's life, conceived by the speaker as having been predestined.

(countable) The measurement under some system of region of day or moment.

(countable) Ratio of comparison.

Tense.

(music) The measured duration of sounds; measure; tempo; rate of movement; rhythmical division.

To measure or record the time, duration, or rate of.

To choose when something begins or how long it lasts.

(obsolete) To keep or beat time; to proceed or move in time.

(obsolete) To pass time; to delay.

To regulate as to time; to accompany, or agree with, in time of movement.

To measure, as in music or harmony.

(tennis) Reminder by the umpire for the players to continue playing after their pause.

The umpire's call in prizefights, etc.

A call by a bartender to warn patrons that the establishment is closing and no more drinks will be served.

Duration, considered independently of any system of measurement or any employment of terms which designate limited portions thereof.

A particular period or part of duration, whether past, present, or future; a point or portion of duration; as, the time was, or has been; the time is, or will be.

The period at which any definite event occurred, or person lived; age; period; era; as, the Spanish Armada was destroyed in the time of Queen Elizabeth; - often in the plural; as, ancient times; modern times.

The duration of one's life; the hours and days which a person has at his disposal.

A proper time; a season; an opportunity.

Hour of travail, delivery, or parturition.

Performance or occurrence of an action or event, considered with reference to repetition; addition of a number to itself; repetition; as, to double cloth four times; four times four, or sixteen.

The present life; existence in this world as contrasted with immortal life; definite, as contrasted with infinite, duration.

Tense.

The measured duration of sounds; measure; tempo; rate of movement; rhythmical division; as, common or triple time; the musician keeps good time.

To appoint the time for; to bring, begin, or perform at the proper season or time; as, he timed his appearance rightly.

To regulate as to time; to accompany, or agree with, in time of movement.

To ascertain or record the time, duration, or rate of; as, to time the speed of horses, or hours for workmen.

To measure, as in music or harmony.

To keep or beat time; to proceed or move in time.

To pass time; to delay.

An instance or single occasion for some event;

An indefinite period (usually marked by specific attributes or activities);

A period of time considered as a resource under your control and sufficient to accomplish something;

A suitable moment;

The continuum of experience in which events pass from the future through the present to the past

The time as given by a clock;

The fourth coordinate that is required (along with three spatial dimensions) to specify a physical event

A person's experience on a particular occasion;

Rhythm as given by division into parts of equal time

The period of time a prisoner is imprisoned;

Measure the time or duration of an event or action or the person who performs an action in a certain period of time;

Assign a time for an activity or event;

Set the speed, duration, or execution of;

Regulate or set the time of;

Adjust so that a force is applied an an action occurs at the desired time;

Time is considered a dimension because it is a fundamental aspect of the universe that, together with the three spatial dimensions, describes the position and movement of objects.

Time exists independently of clocks or any timekeeping devices; clocks are merely tools to measure and represent it.

Clocks structure our perception of time, dividing it into measurable units, which helps in scheduling and planning daily activities.

No, a clock's sole function is to measure and indicate time, making the concept of time essential for its existence and purpose.

Timekeeping has evolved from rudimentary sundials and water clocks to highly accurate atomic clocks that define the second based on atomic frequencies.

Daylight saving time requires manually adjusting clocks forward or backward, although many digital devices now update automatically.

While we have a functional understanding of time for everyday use and scientific inquiry, philosophical and theoretical aspects of time continue to be subjects of debate and research.

While we can measure and represent time with increasing precision, the flow of time itself remains beyond our control.

Time is a key parameter in all physical processes, affecting everything from the decay of radioactive elements to the orbits of planets.

Atomic clocks, which measure time based on atomic vibrations, are the most accurate timekeeping devices, essential for GPS, scientific research, and maintaining the standard time.