Criticise time to sound exhausted (4)

I believe the answer is:

pant

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'to sound exhausted' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'criticise time' is the wordplay.
'criticise' becomes 'pan' (informal term meaning to criticise heavily).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'pan'+'t'='PANT'

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(Other definitions for pant that I've seen before include "Long" , "Breathe hard" , "Breathe noisily after running" , "Breath rapidly" , "Breathe heavily" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.

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