If you have a project or task to do, and you have a very limited amount of time to finish it, then you can say that you're in a race against time.
When you're racing against time, you're working as quickly as possible to complete a task before a deadline. We use the expressions race against time or work against the clock to say that something needs to be accomplished in a very short period of time. These expressions often imply that there is an element of stress or pressure and that, unless you work quickly, there is a possibility that the task may not be completed by the deadline.
These two expressions, race against time and work against the clock, are common in high-stress situations related to work, school, health, construction, or preparation for an event. For example:
- Tomorrow's the debut of their theater show so they're working against the clock to finish all of the costumes and decor in time.
- My history essay is due tomorrow and I still have 4 pages to write, so I'm in a race against time to complete it.
A. Max, our client scheduled an emergency meeting tomorrow morning so we have to complete all of our analysis by 8:00am.
B. Really? That's going to be difficult on such short notice. I'll notify the team and we'll work against the clock to get it done in time.
Did you know? This expression gained popularity as a result of timed sports, such as races, where a stopwatch was used to record the best time. Athletes would compete against the winning time of their opponent and try to do the same activity in less time. That's why this expression refers to racing against a specific deadline.