I struggled with this concept but generally accepted the standard patina of time as a dimension. Some 10 years ago now I was searching for an answer for what I thought was down a totally different pathway. Delving into GR to understand time and chanced on the description of gravity. That was some rabbit hole, which led to the understanding that both time & gravity were emergent from essentially the same energy contained within both matter and energy structures. Though there are strong indications that it is not simply either the HIGG's boson or the top quark but a rather the interaction of forces to create the eventual emergent properties.
As for space there is too much experimental evidence to conclude our view of distance as other than deeply flawed. Even simply moving a ruler above sea level will change it's length. As for measuring time based on the vibrations of a cesium atom, good luck with that one for it has the same problem.
