Clock in / Clock Out

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🗓️ Idiom: Clock In / Clock Out

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💬 Meaning

• To officially record the time you start (clock in) or finish (clock out) work.
• It can also refer more generally to starting or ending a work shift.

🧠 Example Sentences

• Employees must clock in by 9:00 AM or they’re considered late.
• She forgot to clock out yesterday and had to ask HR to adjust her hours.
• Most factory workers are required to clock in and out every day.

🏛️ Origin

The expression comes from traditional punch card time clocks, where employees would insert a card into a machine to stamp their work hours. While modern systems are often digital, the phrase has remained common in workplace language.

📝 Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank:

Don’t forget to __________ out before you leave or you won’t be paid correctly.

Answer

clock

2. Choose the correct meaning of “clock in / clock out”:

A) To take a break
B) To record the start or end time of a work shift
C) To attend a training session

Answer

B) To record the start or end time of a work shift

3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:

“He started work at 8 AM and finished at 4 PM.” → Change the sentence using: clock in / clock out

Answer

He clocked in at 8 AM and clocked out at 4 PM.

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ℹ️ Other Useful Pages

👉 HR and Recruitment Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit

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