From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmark timemark timePMif soldiers mark time, they move their legs as if they were marching, but remain in the same place → mark
Examples from the Corpus
mark time• Amusing, but Ackroyd marking time.• We have to lie still for five minutes, while the teachers whisper to each other as they mark time.• Yet computer cuts in the services sector mean that, for now, it can do little more than mark time.• We marked time at Po Ti Island for a day hoping that the north-east head wind would change in our favour.• The clock apparently marks time by carrying out a predictable and elaborate process of synthesizing and destroying molecules within living cells.• The deep tones of the cannon marked time to the incessant roll of musketry..• Gaultier has remained true to himself, and must therefore mark time until fashion comes back around to his idiosyncratic viewpoint.• Investors are marking time, waiting for evidence that the market is growing.• The hind legs have to mark time while the forelegs cross over, making the outer ring of a wheel. 