WordValein the nick of time
just in time
In more detail
(idiom) at the last possible moment; just before it is too late
Examples
- She arrived at the airport in the nick of time to catch her flight.
How to use in the nick of time
This idiom describes an action that succeeds only because it happens at the final moment before failure or disaster would occur. It carries a sense of relief or fortune that something was completed or prevented just before becoming too late. The phrase is commonly used in both everyday conversation and narrative contexts to convey narrow timing.
Common phrases
- arrive in the nick of time
- finish in the nick of time
- save someone in the nick of time
- catch something in the nick of time
- get there in the nick of time
Synonyms
just in time · at the last moment · in the last instant · barely in time · under the wire
A common mistake
Learners sometimes confuse this with 'nick of time' alone, but the full idiom requires the preposition 'in' at the beginning, and it is not typically used as 'at the nick of time' in standard English.
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