C1idiomtimeIELTS-friendly
at a stretch
USUK
continuously, without a break
Used after a length of time ('for two hours at a stretch'). American English also says 'at one stretch' or 'in one stretch'.
In context
She can study for five hours at a stretch without checking her phone.
The drivers sleep only four hours at a stretch on the long route to Hanoi.
More idioms about time
- a blast from the pastsomething or someone that suddenly reminds you of an earlier time
- a long time comingif something is a long time coming, people have waited a long time for it
- a matter of timecertain to happen, although you do not know exactly when
- a race against timea situation where you must hurry to finish before time runs out
- a sign of the timessomething that shows how society is now, often in a bad way