Time is one of life’s greatest mysteries — we measure it, chase it, and sometimes wish we had more of it. That’s what makes riddles about time so fascinating. In this collection of 70+ riddles about time with answers, you’ll find clever brain teasers that spark curiosity, challenge your thinking, and bring fun to both kids and adults. Whether you’re a teacher looking for classroom activities, a parent wanting to engage children, or simply someone who loves solving puzzles, these riddles about time are perfect for testing your wit.
Best Riddles about Time
- I am the enemy of all that grows, the guardian of all that decays. With enough of me, empires crumble to dust. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I turn kings into paupers and mountains into sand. I can be as deadly as poison in the wrong hands. What am I?
🕰️… Time - Without me, everything would freeze in place, yet I am unseen and untouchable. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I am the parent of civilizations, the killer of heroes. Without me, you cannot survive, but embrace me too much, and you’ll cease to thrive. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I can be spent, saved, lost, and made, but I can never be touched. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I am a thief who never steals but has stolen the past. The future is my promise, yet I have no future myself. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I am the ruler of empires, the ally of the rushed, the enemy of the idle. I heal all wounds but can wound all healers. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I flow like a river, but no water do I carry. I have banks but no money they hold. I guide your way but not on roads. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
🕰️… Fire - What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
🕰️… The letter ‘M’ - I’m the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of every race. What am I?
🕰️… The letter ‘E’ - I have hands but cannot clap. I have a face but do not laugh. I can run but never walk. What am I?
🕰️… A clock - Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
🕰️… The word ‘ton’ - What flies without wings?
🕰️… Time - You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, but the future can never taint me. What am I?
🕰️… History - What has a heart that doesn’t beat?
🕰️… An artichoke or a clock - When you need me, you throw me away. But when you’re done with me, you bring me back. What am I?
🕰️… An anchor - I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?
🕰️… An echo
Easy Riddles about Time
- What goes up but never comes down?
🕰️… Your age (representing time) - I have no life, but I can die. What am I?
🕰️… A battery (metaphor for time running out) - You see me once in a year, twice in a week, but never in a day. What am I?
🕰️… The letter ‘E’ (as a metaphor for events over time) - What can fly without wings?
🕰️… Time - I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
🕰️… A candle (a metaphor for time passing) - What can fill a room but takes up no space?
🕰️… Light (a metaphor for the passage of time) - I’m always ahead, I’m never behind. What am I?
🕰️… The future (a concept of time) - I follow you all day long, but when the night or rain comes, I am gone. What am I?
🕰️… Your shadow (a metaphor for moments in time) - What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
🕰️… A clock (a keeper of time) - What begins with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
🕰️… A teapot
Hard Riddles about Time
- I am the destroyer of mountains, the killer of kings. I always fly, yet I have no wings. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I can run but never walk, have a mouth but never talk, have a head but never weep, have a bed but never sleep. What am I?
🕰️… A river - I go on forever, but the last 3 letters signify a place you visit every day. What word am I?
🕰️… Eternity (The ‘net’) - I am a period of time, but I’m not a decade. I last exactly 4 years, but I’m not always the same. What am I?
🕰️… An Olympic cycle - The more of me you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
🕰️… Footsteps - What has a neck but no head, two arms but no hands?
🕰️… A shirt - I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost every person. What am I?
🕰️… Pencil lead - What has cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water?
🕰️… A map - I walk on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs at noon, and 3 legs in the evening. What am I?
🕰️… A human (representing the stages of life) - What begins and has no end, and is the ending of all that begins?
🕰️… Death
Tricky Riddles about Time
- I am not seen, but I am felt. I affect the trees, yet I am not wind. I make you age, but I am not the sun. What am I?
🕰️… Time - I am lighter than air but a hundred people cannot lift me. Careful, I am fragile. What am I?
🕰️… A bubble - The more you take away from me, the bigger I get. What am I?
🕰️… A hole - I start with an ‘e’, end with an ‘e’, and contain one letter, but I am not the letter ‘e’. What am I?
🕰️… An envelope - I am full of keys but cannot open any door. What am I?
🕰️… A piano - What comes once in a year, twice in a week, but never in a day?
🕰️… The letter ‘E’ - What is always in front of you but can’t be seen or touched?
🕰️… The future - I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
🕰️… Fire - You see me once in June, twice in November, but not at all in May. What am I?
🕰️… The letter ‘E’ - I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
🕰️… A joke
Twisted Riddles about Time
- I dance without music, and breathe without life. I light up the night, yet fade with the light. What am I?
🕰️… Stars - I whisper to the earth, and the earth whispers back. I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I?
🕰️… Echo - What has a ring but no finger?
🕰️… A telephone or a marriage proposal - I can fly without wings, I can cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness flies. What am I?
🕰️… Clouds - What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
🕰️… A stamp - I can be cracked, played, told, and made. What am I?
🕰️… A joke - I have cities but no houses, I have mountains but no trees, I have water but no fish. What am I?
🕰️… A map - What gets wetter as it dries?
🕰️… A towel - I have a spine but no bones. What am I?
🕰️… A book - I am always coming but never arrive today. What am I?
🕰️… Tomorrow
Time Riddles for Kids
- What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
🕰️… A clock - What needs to be broken before you can use it?
🕰️… An egg - I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I?
🕰️… A candle - What goes up but never goes down?
🕰️… Your age - What can you hold in your right hand but not in your left hand?
🕰️… Your left hand - What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
🕰️… The future - What comes at the end of a rainbow?
🕰️… The letter ‘W’ - What has to be broken before you can eat it?
🕰️… An egg - I start with ‘P’, end with ‘E’, and have thousands of letters. What am I?
🕰️… Post Office - What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
🕰️… A glove
Time Riddles for Adults
- I’m more powerful than God, more evil than the devil, the poor have me, the rich need me, and if you eat me, you’ll die. What am I?
🕰️… Nothing - What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?
🕰️… Silence - What gets bigger the more you take away?
🕰️… A hole - I am seen in the water if seen in the sky, I am in the rainbow, a jay’s feather, and lapis lazuli. What am I?
🕰️… The color blue - What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
🕰️… A river - I speak without a voice, I listen without ears. I tell you about the world, but I weave tales of yore. What am I?
🕰️… A book - What has roots that nobody sees, is taller than trees, up, up it goes, yet it never grows?
🕰️… A mountain - What begins with an ‘e’ and only contains one letter?
🕰️… An envelope - I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
🕰️… A keyboard - What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
🕰️… The letter ‘M’
Conclusion
Riddles about time remind us that while we can’t stop the clock, we can enjoy the moments it gives us. From simple puzzles for kids to tricky brain teasers for adults, these 70+ time riddles with answers are a great way to learn, laugh, and share fun challenges with others. Use them at school, at home, or even during gatherings to spark conversation and critical thinking. Next time you check the clock, you might just think of a riddle that makes time feel a little more playful.
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