Meaning of borrowed time | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A period of time whose precise duration is not known but which can be expected to be quite limited, and at the end of which one's situation, benefits, or opportunities will be entirely terminated.
   idiomatic, uncountable
2. A length of time whose duration has traditionally expired, but which continues nonetheless.
   uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“to live on borrowed time”

“[A]t eighty a body is living on borrowed time.”

“A century ago you could expect to live 40 years. […] Anything beyond that was borrowed time.”

“"Basically, my back is a career-ending injury." […] It might seem like a Faustian bargain, but Ho is making the best of his borrowed time.”

“The thing about borrowed time is that it always runs out quicker than you want it to.”

“Several duplicate routes were on borrowed time, having escaped the Beeching cuts of half a decade earlier, but were nevertheless on the hit list for closure because they fell outside the recently devised social grants system.”

“Ever since the abortive coup, speculation had been that Yevgeny Prigozhin could be living on borrowed time.”

“Having survived when many others died, she decided to make good use of her borrowed time.”

CEFR level