diff --git a/lib/context.js b/lib/context.js
index e7138ba948..84440bef27 100644
--- a/lib/context.js
+++ b/lib/context.js
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ Context.prototype.runnable = function(runnable){
  */
 
 Context.prototype.timeout = function(ms){
+  if (arguments.length === 0) return this.runnable().timeout();
   this.runnable().timeout(ms);
   return this;
 };
diff --git a/test/acceptance/context.js b/test/acceptance/context.js
index 0d39f14194..add011bdac 100644
--- a/test/acceptance/context.js
+++ b/test/acceptance/context.js
@@ -65,3 +65,9 @@ describe('Context Siblings', function(){
   })
 
 })
+
+describe('timeout()', function(){
+  it('should return the timeout', function(){
+    this.timeout().should.equal(200);
+  });
+});