Other spellings timeout time out Pronunciation IPA (key): /ˈtaɪm.aʊt/ Audio (US)(file) Hyphenation: time‧out Noun Singular time-out Plural time-outs (countable) In sports a time-out is when the coach asks for a short stop in the game to talk with the team. The coach of the home team is asking for a time-out. (countable) A time-out is a short period to relax from a situation that causes stress. I need a time-out from this meeting.Wikiwand - on Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.Remove ads