by the time
idiom
: at the time : when
I had lived in 12 different cities by the time I turned 18.
By the time she showed up, I was finished eating.
Examples of by the time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
High-resolution images of the battlefield were rare, and commanders often had to rely on photos that were days old by the time they were analyzed.
—
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 11 Feb. 2026
All of those figures are based on current state and federal guidelines, and will almost certainly change by the time the project is built.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026
Folding in half is ineffective and may result in overhandling the dough by the time the layers are built; folding into fourths makes the dough unwieldy.
—Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Feb. 2026
With Eric Heiden, the only speedskater to win five golds at one Olympics, sitting next to rapper Snoop Dogg in the stands, Stolz pulled ahead of de Boo by the time one full lap was done.
—Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
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Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 11 Feb. 2026
All of those figures are based on current state and federal guidelines, and will almost certainly change by the time the project is built.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026
Folding in half is ineffective and may result in overhandling the dough by the time the layers are built; folding into fourths makes the dough unwieldy.
—Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Feb. 2026
With Eric Heiden, the only speedskater to win five golds at one Olympics, sitting next to rapper Snoop Dogg in the stands, Stolz pulled ahead of de Boo by the time one full lap was done.
—Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for by the time
Cite this Entry
“By the time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20the%20time. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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