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matar tempo
[mah-TAR TEM-poo]
verb phrase
to kill time
1.
to spend time doing something unimportant or leisurely while waiting for something else or to pass the time
We were early for the movie, so we decided to kill time at the café.
Chegamos cedo para o filme, então decidimos matar tempo no café.
2.
to engage in a trivial activity to make time pass more quickly
I killed time playing games on my phone during the wait.
Matei tempo jogando jogos no meu celular durante a espera.
NYC Slang
waste time, burn time, chill
Synonyms
passar tempo
perder tempo
ocupar o tempo
gastar tempo
Antonyms
aproveitar o tempo
economizar tempo
Regional Variations
General Brazilian
matar tempo
most common and widely used expression
Rio de Janeiro
matar tempo
standard usage, no regional variation
São Paulo
matar tempo
standard usage, no regional variation
Portugal
matar tempo
used but less common; 'passar tempo' is more frequent
Related Idioms & Phrases
passar o tempo
ocupar o tempo
distrair-se
matar as horas
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