Standard Lemma guide

pastime

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, UK: /ˈpæs.taɪm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpɑːs.taɪm/
  • CMU ARPABET: P AE1 S T AY2 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Something which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Chatting is a pleasant pastime.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: kill-time, amusement, avocation, diversion, divertisement, fancy, hobby, pastime, pursuit, sport

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To sport; to amuse oneself.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a diversion that occupies one's time and thoughts (usually pleasantly)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • sailing is her favorite pastime
  • his main pastime is gambling
  • he counts reading among his interests
  • they criticized the boy for his limited pursuits

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: interest, pursuit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: diversion, recreation

Narrower terms: avocation, by-line, hobby, pursuit, sideline, spare-time activity

History

Etymology

From earlier passtime, pass-time, from Middle English passe tyme, passetyme, calque of Middle French passetemps.

Across languages

Translations

54 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: ժամանց (žamancʻ) — that which amuses
  • Bulgarian: забавление (zabavlenie) — that which amuses
  • Bulgarian: развлечение (razvlečenie) — that which amuses
  • Catalan: passatemps — that which amuses
  • Chinese Mandarin: 消遣 (xiāoqiǎn) — that which amuses
  • Chinese Mandarin: 娛樂 /娱乐 (yúlè) — that which amuses
  • Czech: zábava — that which amuses
  • Czech: kratochvíle — that which amuses
  • Dutch: hobby — that which amuses
  • Dutch: tijdverdrijf — that which amuses
  • Dutch: ontspanning — that which amuses
  • Esperanto: amuzaĵo — that which amuses
  • Faroese: dagdvølja — that which amuses
  • Finnish: ajanviete — that which amuses
  • Finnish: viihdyke — that which amuses
  • Finnish: huvi — that which amuses
  • French: passe-temps — that which amuses
  • German: Zeitvertreib — that which amuses
  • Greek: διασκέδαση (diaskédasi) — that which amuses
  • Greek: αναψυχή (anapsychí) — that which amuses
  • Ancient Greek: διατριβή (diatribḗ) — that which amuses
  • Hebrew: בילוי (bilúy) — that which amuses
  • Hungarian: időtöltés — that which amuses
  • Icelandic: dægrastytting — that which amuses
  • Icelandic: dægradvöl — that which amuses
  • Irish: caitheamh aimsire — that which amuses
  • Irish: spórt — that which amuses
  • Italian: passatempo — that which amuses
  • Japanese: 娯楽 (goraku) — that which amuses
  • Latin: ludus — that which amuses
  • Latin: oblectāmen — that which amuses
  • Latin: oblectāmentum — that which amuses
  • Māori: runaruna — that which amuses
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tidsfordriv — that which amuses
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tidsfordriv — that which amuses
  • Pennsylvania German: Zeitverdreib — that which amuses
  • Persian: سرگرمی (sargarmi) — that which amuses
  • Polish: rozrywka — that which amuses
  • Portuguese: passatempo — that which amuses
  • Russian: времяпрепровожде́ние (vremjapreprovoždénije) — that which amuses
  • Russian: развлече́ние (razvlečénije) — that which amuses
  • Russian: увеселе́ние (uveselénije) — that which amuses
  • Russian: заба́ва (zabáva) — that which amuses
  • Sanskrit: देवना (devanā) — that which amuses
  • Scottish Gaelic: cur-seachad — that which amuses
  • Scottish Gaelic: caitheamh-aimsire — that which amuses
  • Spanish: pasatiempo — that which amuses
  • Swedish: förströelse — that which amuses
  • Swedish: tidsfördriv — that which amuses
  • Tagalog: palipas-oras — that which amuses
  • Tamil: பொழுதுபோக்கு (poḻutupōkku) — that which amuses
  • Turkish: eğlence — that which amuses
  • Turkish: hobi — that which amuses
  • Turkish: meşgale — that which amuses
Real reading context

pastime in complete knowledge articles