advance the clock

USAGE SUMMARY

“advance the clock” is correct and can be used in written English.
You can use it when you want to express the idea of “moving forward in time.” For example, “We need to advance the clock by an hour to accommodate the change in time zones.”.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

In 1909 the British House of Commons rejected a bill to advance the clock by one hour in the spring and return to Greenwich Mean Time in the autumn.

Encyclopedia Britannica

The current threat of nuclear war amply justifies their January 2015 decision to advance the clock two minutes toward midnight.

Huffington Post

In an effort to conserve the fuel needed to produce electric power, Germany and Austria took the initiative to advance the clock an hour at 11 p.m. on Apr. 30, 1916, until the following October.

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

Many ways of reducing carbon emissions inevitably need investment in new infrastructure, none of which are required to advance the clocks".

The Guardian

Switching off all the autosave mechanisms also helps, and oddly 'waiting' (ie, advancing the clock) in the same area will sometimes reduce the file size a little.

The Guardian - Tech

However, Congress isn't advancing the clock by much.

Forbes

"It advances the clock on a process that has been ticking in a slow way".

Science Magazine

Trump's comments on nuclear arms and climate issues were among the factors the group took into consideration in advancing the clock this year.

Huffington Post

Belgium observes Summer Time or Daylight-Saving Time by advancing the clock one hour on the last Sunday in March.

WikiHow

She said: "Advancing the clocks would be a one-off administrative change and would save energy in all succeeding years.

The Guardian

In the second (Markov), we draw an inter-arrival time from the empirical distribution of such gaps (shown in Figure 2), advance the game clock by that amount, and generate a scoring event at that clock time.

EPJ Data Science

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "advance the clock" when discussing daylight saving time or similar time adjustments. It can also be used metaphorically to describe accelerating a process or event.

Common error

Be careful not to confuse "advance the clock" with "turn back the clock". The former means to move time forward, while the latter means to revert to a previous time or state.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "advance the clock" primarily functions as a verb phrase. As suggested by Ludwig, it indicates the action of moving time forward, literally or figuratively, influencing events or processes.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

33%

Science

33%

Encyclopedias

33%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "advance the clock" is a grammatically correct verb phrase used to describe moving time forward, either literally or figuratively. Ludwig AI confirms its correct usage. While relatively rare, it appears in diverse contexts such as news, science, and encyclopedias. When writing, ensure you don't confuse it with its antonym, "turn back the clock". Related phrases include "set the clock forward" and "speed up the timeline".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

set the clock forward

This alternative is focused on physically or metaphorically moving the hands of a clock ahead.

move the time forward

This alternative is a more general way to express changing the time to a later point.

push time ahead

This alternative suggests accelerating or hastening the passage of time.

speed up the timeline

This alternative implies accelerating a sequence of events.

accelerate the schedule

This alternative focuses on making a planned set of activities occur sooner.

bring forward the deadline

This alternative specifically refers to making a due date earlier.

hasten the process

This alternative suggests accelerating a particular procedure or operation.

move up the event

This alternative is about rescheduling an event to an earlier date.

expedite the procedure

This alternative suggests making a process faster or more efficient.

shorten the waiting period

This alternative focuses on reducing the duration of a delay or anticipation.

FAQs

What does "advance the clock" mean?

The phrase "advance the clock" means to move the time forward, either literally (as in setting a clock ahead) or metaphorically (as in speeding up a process).

How is "advance the clock" used in the context of Daylight Saving Time?

In the context of Daylight Saving Time, "advance the clock" means setting the clocks forward, typically by one hour, in the spring to extend daylight during summer evenings.

What can I say instead of "advance the clock"?

You can use alternatives like "set the clock forward", "move the time forward", or "speed up the timeline" depending on the context.

What's the difference between "advance the clock" and "turn back the clock"?

"Advance the clock" means to move time forward, while "turn back the clock" means to revert to a previous time or state. They are antonyms.