by the time

idiom

: at the time : when

I had lived in 12 different cities by the time I turned 18.

By the time she showed up, I was finished eating.

Examples of by the time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web By Judy Berman June 7, 2024 8:00 AM EDT Quantity, not quality, defined the Peak TV era, an original-content bonanza that began when streaming services started making their own shows in the mid-2010s and was on the wane by the time Americans emerged from pandemic isolation. —

Judy Berman, TIME, 7 June 2024 Witnesses told the outlet that the suspects had already escaped out the back of the store by the time officers arrived. —

Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 5 June 2024 But by the time of their final work together, a critical backlash had begun. —

Brian Seibert, The New York Review of Books, 30 May 2024 After New York dominated in the first eight-plus minutes, the game wound up essentially equal by the time the teams went to their dressing rooms — Florida actually led 21-20 in shot attempts with the game at even strength. —

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for by the time

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'by the time.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.