1
: employed for or involving full time
full-time employees
full-time work
2
: devoting one's full attention and energies to something
a full-time gambler
full-time adverb

full time

2 of 2

noun

: the amount of time considered the normal or standard amount for working during a given period

Examples of full-time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
Some of this new breed of travel and food reviewers started as hobbyists and now do it full-time. Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026 So far, Biolyz has amassed eight soccer clients across continental Europe, between full-time customers and those testing the service on a trial basis. Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 10 Aug. 2026 That lawsuit alleges that the city bungled the rollout by including many who live full-time in their homes on a list of 900,000 people who could be subject to the tax, as well as sending letters to 17,000 others. Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026 Two months later, the Lucas Museum laid off 14 percent of its full-time workforce. News Desk, Artforum, 10 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for full-time

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1821, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of full-time was in 1821

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Full-time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/full-time. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Kids Definition

full-time

adjective
ˈfu̇l-ˈtīm
: working or involving the full number of hours considered normal or standard
a full-time job
full-time employees
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