time-sharing

time-sharing — noun

1. a system in which several people jointly own or rent a holiday home and each per

1.nounB2
Definition

a system in which several people jointly own or rent a holiday home and each person or family uses it for a fixed period every year

Example

The Garcia family bought a time-sharing arrangement at a beach resort in Cancún.

time-sharing arrangement at [place]

Many retired couples use time-sharing to spend winters in warmer states without buying a second home.

Common collocations
  • time-sharing arrangement
  • time-sharing contract
  • time-sharing plan
  • buy into a time-sharing
  • time-sharing resort
Synonyms
  • timeshare

    One-word form, more common in American English for the same concept; 'time-sharing' emphasises the arrangement system.

Usage Note

Often used attributively (time-sharing contract, time-sharing plan) to describe the legal or financial agreement.

Common Mistakes

We bought a time-sharing in the mountains last year.
We bought into a time-sharing arrangement in the mountains last year.
'Time-sharing' is not a countable noun; use a phrase like 'time-sharing arrangement' or 'timeshare' instead.

2. a method of operating a large central computer so that many people at different

2.nounB2
Definition

a method of operating a large central computer so that many people at different terminals can use it at the same time, each getting a tiny fraction of the processor's attention in rapid rotation

Example

In the 1970s, university students accessed research databases through a time-sharing system on the mainframe.

time-sharing system + mainframe

The engineers developed a time-sharing operating system that let fifty users log in from separate offices.

Common collocations
  • time-sharing system
  • time-sharing operating system
  • time-sharing terminal
  • time-sharing environment
  • time-sharing service
Synonyms
  • multi-user system

    Broader modern term; does not imply the rapid-rotation processor-sharing method specifically.

Antonyms
  • batch processing

    An earlier method where jobs were run one after another without interactive user access.

Usage Note

Primarily a historical computing term; the concept has been absorbed into modern multi-user operating systems and cloud computing.

Common Mistakes

I use time-sharing on my laptop every day.
I use a multi-user operating system on my laptop every day.
Modern personal computers do not require time-sharing; the term refers to a specific 1960s–1980s mainframe method.

Word family

  • timeshare
    nounB2
  • time-share
    adjectiveB2
  • time-share
    verbC1
  • timesharing
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Timeshare and time-sharing refer to the same vacation-property arrangement, but 'timeshare' (one word) is far more common in everyday American English and often names the industry directly ('timeshare resort,' 'timeshare presentation'). 'Time-sharing' with a hyphen emphasises the system or the legal structure itself rather than the property. 'Vacation ownership' is a marketing-friendly term that avoids the negative reputation timeshares sometimes carry — it sounds more upscale but covers the same basic idea. 'Fractional ownership' is used for high-end properties (private jets, luxury villas) where the share is more expensive and the ownership structure is more formal. For a typical holiday apartment that multiple families use in weekly rotations, 'timeshare' is the natural word; 'time-sharing' suits a more formal or contractual context.

timesharetime-sharing ↗vacation ownershipfractional ownership

Common collocations

Nouns

  • time-sharing agreement
  • time-sharing industry
  • time-sharing option
  • time-sharing company

Phrases

  • buy into a time-sharing
  • sell a time-sharing share
  • time-sharing for the week of

Prepositions

  • time-sharing in [location]
  • time-sharing through [company]

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The word 'time-sharing' was formed by combining 'time' (from Old English 'tīma', meaning a period or season) with 'sharing' (from Old English 'scieran', to divide). The term appeared in the mid-20th century in two separate contexts: first in computing (around 1959–1960, at MIT and other research labs) to describe the technique of splitting a computer's processing time among multiple users; then in the vacation industry (1960s) to describe the division of a holiday property's usage time among multiple owners. The two senses developed independently and are now fully established as distinct meanings of the same compound noun.

First known use

1953

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 2