Time-out
A short, rules-permitted stoppage a team or official can call to pause play for rest, coaching, or tactical reasons.
Definition
A time-out is a break in play requested by a team, or sometimes mandated by the competition, that pauses the action to let players rest, receive coaching instructions, or disrupt an opponent's momentum. The number, length, and permitted timing of time-outs are strictly limited by each sport's rules, and calling more than allowed can itself be penalised.
Basketball, volleyball, and American football build time-outs into their structure as tactical tools, frequently used at decisive moments late in a close game. Many competitions also schedule official or 'television' time-outs for broadcast and administrative purposes, and medical stoppages are usually treated separately from a team's tactical allowance.
Where you’ll hear “time-out”
Sports that use this term:
Basketball
A fast, dynamic team sport of running, jumping and quick decisions on court.
Volleyball
A non-contact team sport of rallies, jumps and teamwork — indoors or on the beach.
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
American Football
A strategic, position-based team sport of set plays, sprinting and coordinated teamwork on a marked field.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Time-out to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Sports communication
- Calling for the ballLetting a teammate know you are open and want the pass — usually a short, clear call made at the right moment.
- Concise communicationSaying the useful thing in as few clear words as possible — especially when time, noise or pressure leave no room for long messages.
- Non-verbal communicationSharing information without words — through body language, eye contact, gestures and agreed hand signals — often faster or quieter than a call.
- Coach-to-player feedbackHow a coach shares usable information with a player about what they did and what to try next — usually specific, well timed and focused on one thing at a time.
- Communication in inclusive sportAdapting how information is shared so everyone can take part — for example using visual signals, clear sightlines or agreed cues alongside or instead of sound.
Healthy living
- Exercise and SleepThe two-way link between staying active and sleeping well — how movement can help rest, and how rest fuels movement.
- Meal TimingHow the rhythm of when you eat can fit around your day and your activity — without rigid rules or clock-watching.
- Sleep RoutineA steady rhythm of consistent timing and a calming wind-down that helps your body know when it is time to rest.
- Screen Time BalanceKeeping time on screens in proportion with movement, sleep and the rest of your day — a sensible balance rather than a strict limit.
- Walking MeetingsTaking a call or a one-to-one on the move instead of at a desk — an easy way to add movement to the working day without losing time.
Knowledge Atlas
Strategies
- Game managementAdapting how a team or athlete plays to the scoreline and time remaining — protecting a lead, chasing a result or seeing out the closing stages.
- Playing the percentagesFavouring the higher-probability, lower-risk option most of the time to cut out unforced errors, while recognising when a calculated risk is worth taking.
Rules
- Volleyball rotationThe rule that players rotate one position clockwise each time their team wins back the serve.
- Direct and indirect free kicksThe two types of free kick awarded in football to restart play after a foul or other stoppage.
- Two-bounce ruleA pickleball rule requiring both the serve and the return to bounce once before players may hit the ball out of the air.
- Three-hit ruleThe volleyball rule that a team may contact the ball at most three times before it must cross the net.
- Badminton serve rulesThe rules for how a badminton serve must be delivered and where it must land.
Officiating
- Penalty SignalA standardized hand or flag signal an official uses to announce a foul, penalty, or restart so players, teammates, and spectators can read the call.
- Out-of-Bounds CallAn official's ruling that the ball or a player in possession has left the legal playing area, stopping play and handing a restart or possession to the opponent.
- Line JudgeA boundary-line official who calls whether the ball or player is in or out and flags foot faults, working under the head referee across many sports.
- RefereeThe primary on-field official who enforces the rules, controls play, penalises fouls, awards restarts, and blows the whistle to start and stop a match.
- UmpireA match official who rules on lines, serves and dismissals in racket, bat-and-ball and net sports such as tennis, cricket and baseball — and, in racket sports, also keeps the running score.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Term
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-08-04
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