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full-time

/ˌfʊl ˌˈtaɪm/
/ˈfʊltaɪm/
IPA guide

If you do something full-time, you spend most of your available time doing it. Working full-time usually means spending around forty hours a week doing your work.

You can be employed at a full-time job, or you can be a full-time student. Some people are full-time parents, and you might hope to be a full-time artist or a full-time musician one day. In all of these examples, people use the majority of their waking hours (at least during the work week) focusing on one thing. This term dates from the late 1800s.

Definitions of full-time
  1. adverb
    for the standard number of hours
    “she works full-time
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    half-time
    for less than the standard number of hours
  2. adjective
    for the entire time appropriate to an activity
    “a full-time job”
    synonyms:
    regular
    officially full-time
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    part-time
    involving less than the standard or customary time for an activity
    half-time
    involving half the standard or customary time for an activity
    irregular, temporary
    lacking continuity or regularity
    odd-job
    not regular or skilled
    underemployed
    employed only part-time when one needs full-time employment or not making full use of your skills
Pronunciation
US
/ˌfʊl ˌˈtaɪm/
UK
/ˈfʊltaɪm/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘full-time'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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