time out = a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate" respite, break, recess pause - temporary inactivity spring break - a week or more of recess during the spring term at school also a term used during a basketball match, when the coach wants to stop the game to talk to the team.

Yes, it means all those things. It's also a phrase used to discipline young children who are misbehaving: the parents give them a "time out," meaning they have to go to a corner or to their room for a short time to let them think about what they have done wrong.