To waste time means to use time on something that isn't worth it. You often hear it in advice and complaints: don't waste your time, what a waste of time.
Want to remember waste time?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
waste time + -ing; waste time on + noun; be a waste of time
- Don't waste time rewriting the introduction; the main part needs more work.
- I wasted the whole morning on a meeting that could have been an email.
- For me, watching reality shows is a complete waste of time.
What changed
First versionDon't lose your time on this series: it gets boring after the first season.
RevisionDon't waste your time on this series: it gets boring after the first season.
Don't lose your time sounds wrong in English. Lose time is used when delays take time away from you: We lost an hour because of the traffic. When a person spends time on something pointless, use waste.
Spend time is neutral: the time simply went on something. Waste time always carries a judgement that it was pointless. Compare I spent an hour on the report and I wasted an hour on the report. In the second sentence, that hour probably achieved nothing.
Your turn
Reading all these reviews is a ___ of time: just buy the cheaper phone.
Show the answer
waste — The fixed phrase is a waste of time. A loss of time may look logical, but native speakers don't say it.
Name an activity you think is a waste of time. Explain why and say what you do instead.
Scrolling through news apps before bed is a waste of time for me because I forget everything I read by the morning, so now I read a paper book instead.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.