Wiktionary
by the time
phr. (context idiomatic English) when.
Usage examples of "by the time".
I could answer she went into a paroxysm of laughter, and by the time we had succeeded in making our way to the middle of the bridge we fell to our knees laughing.
Watching his brother, the jigsaw juggernaut, he glimpsed movement peripherally in the mirror, but by the time he shifted his focus, the phantom glided out of sight.
The boy in the FDNY T-shirt had been overpowered, beaten, and most likely knocked unconscious, although he had revived by the time Dylan entered his room.
Jilly had already reached the living room by the time Dylan and Shep got out of the kitchen.