Time Warp Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Etymology

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Examples

Synonyms time warp American

noun

1. a hypothetical eccentricity in the progress of time that would allow movement back and forth between eras or that would permit the passage of time to be suspended.

time warp British

noun

1. any distortion of space-time

2. a hypothetical distortion of time in which people and events from one age can be imagined to exist in another age

3. informal an illusion in which time appears to stand still

   he is living in a time warp

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 time warp Idioms

1. A stoppage in the passage of time; also, a distortion of time whereby an event or person could hypothetically move from one era to another. For example, Nothing in their lives has changed since the sixties; they're in a time warp, or Having a seventy-year-old actress portray a teenager—that was some time warp! This term originated in science fiction, where it signifies “a supernatural movement from one era to another,” and came to be used more loosely. [c. 1950]

Etymology

Origin of time warp

First recorded in 1950–55

Compare meaning

How does time-warp compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• time warp vs. time-lapse

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For Sir Phil, who made a cameo appearance, it felt like "going through a time warp".

From BBC

Stupefied, I stood in the aisle, convinced I’d slipped through a time warp.

From Salon

It does feel like we are in a time warp in this country right now, and in the last few years.

From Salon

Step into the main floor of the content center and it’s like entering a tee-time time warp, a sweet-spot Smithsonian, with photos, murals, touchscreen kiosks and the faint soundtrack of Masters radio from generations gone by.

From Los Angeles Times

With fees and tip, it had come to $65—a small fortune for something that looked and tasted like it had traveled through a time warp in a plastic bag.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.