Phrase guide

time difference

noun · 2 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.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The difference between one measurement of time and another; the length of a time interval.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The difference in clocktime between two or more different time zones.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I want to call Nick – what's the time difference between here and Hong Kong?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: time change

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: فَارِق اَلتَّوْقِيت (fāriq at-tawqīt) — difference of time between measurements
  • Chinese Mandarin: 時差 /时差 (shíchā) — difference of time between measurements
  • Dutch: tijdsverschil — difference of time between measurements
  • Finnish: aikaväli — difference of time between measurements
  • French: différence de temps — difference of time between measurements
  • German: Zeitunterschied — difference of time between measurements
  • Japanese: 時差 (jisa) — difference of time between measurements
  • Korean: 시차 (sicha) — difference of time between measurements
  • Polish: różnica czasu — difference of time between measurements
  • Romanian: diferență orară — difference of time between measurements
  • Russian: ра́зница во вре́мени (ráznica vo vrémeni) — difference of time between measurements
  • German: Zeitverschiebung — difference in clock time between two or more different time zones
  • Hungarian: időeltolódás — difference in clock time between two or more different time zones