what does it mean to lose by timeout?

If you have ever played live chess without a chess clock, you know that sometimes games can drag on for hours.

They decided to put limits on people thinking and split the time equally at the start requiring you to finish a certain number of moves within a certain length of time.

If you use more than your allotted time, you lose.

Doesn't matter if you almost have mate.

Doesn't matter if you have 7 queens.

You lose.

Typical time limits for over the board chess are slower- perhaps 40 moves in 2 and a half hours was typical in tournament chess. Nowadays, people play much more quickly. Online, the majority of games are blitz games with times of 5 minutes or less on each side. Bullet chess games typically have a total of 1 minute per side for all the moves of the game.  You choose what you feel comfortable with. 

Slower online games (over 10 minutes) unfortunately attract a lot of people with bad connections. You can spend the whole game watching them disconnect and reconnect. It is not recommended. If you want to play slower chess, join one of the clubs, like the Slow Chess League, where people have to successfully complete games before they can play in tournaments. It weeds out a lot of the disconnectors.

 It is a feature of this website along with endless disconnections and some other unmentionables

Beanychess, you're rated 800, you have nowhere to go but up, you will get better, I guarantee it.  There's over 18 million people on this site with more every day, and many of them are rank patzers.  Do not fear the clock.  A lot of noobs think five minutes isn't a long time for your side of an entire game.  Five minutes can be an aeon once you get used to it.   

Welcome to chess.com.   Play the computer at one level higher.   It doesn't matter if the computer annihilates.   Consider playing the play tactics and lessons.    There is also youtube  that offers some great pointers.   Keep at it and it is amazing how much you will pick as you go along.   One might never be a GM but there is great fun trying to be. 

utter bollocks. figures have weight for this reason - to score the game. the chess.com timeout system is why i left for other online chess boards, that were able to solve it 

The site uses chess rules when it comes to the clock. If you run out of time in official rated over the board play, you lose, as long as your opponent has sufficient material to mate.

Increase your speed, or figure out a time control which allows you enough time to think. (typically recommended) In addition, playing with increment can be a help in not running out of time, when the game ends up in a position where the moves are simple.