screen time

noun

1
: the amount of time someone or something appears on screen in a movie or television show
… the widespread practice of product placement (in which companies buy screen time for their brands) …Celia Wren
Peck's role is only a cameo—23 minutes of screen time scattered through six and a half hours of edited film …John Skow
2
: time spent watching television, playing a video game, or using an electronic device with a screen (such as a smartphone or tablet)
Concerns about children spending too much time on digital devices—'screen time'—and becoming overdependent on these devices are very real for many teachers and parents.Nicky Hockly
If yours is like most American families with kids under age 5, your child probably watches between three and four hours of television a day. That's a lot of screen timeDebra Kent

Examples of screen time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In the first season of the hit show, Moore, 63, who played Cami Miller, the wife of the powerful oil executive Monty Miller (Jon Hamm), surprised viewers with her limited screen time. Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2026 Phones are the obvious first step, but the larger question is how much screen time belongs in classrooms at all. The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026 As previously mentioned, Meevee targets a preschool audience — specifically kids two to six — pretty much the only ages parents can (and should) be in sole control of their children’s screen time anyway. Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 1 Apr. 2026 All-male alliances like Christian/Devens and Coach’s bro-down have dwarfed the screen time allotted to Kamilla/Dee/Tiffany and Tiffany/Aubry. Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for screen time

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of screen time was in 1921

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Cite this Entry

“Screen time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screen%20time. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.

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