Use the main buttons on our Stopwatch tool. "Start" begins the timer, "Pause" halts it, and "Lap" records intermediate times while the main timer continues running. "Reset" clears all times and starts over.
What are laps used for?
Laps (also called split times) record the time elapsed since the last lap — not since the start. This is useful for tracking pace consistency during running, timing intervals during workouts, measuring individual stages of a process, or recording when specific events occur during an experiment. The lap table shows both the individual lap duration and the cumulative total time.
Stopwatch vs timer
A stopwatch counts up from zero (elapsed time). A timer counts down from a set duration (remaining time). Use a stopwatch when you don't know how long something will take and want to measure it. Use a timer when you have a fixed duration and want to know when it's over.