small hours

American  

plural noun

1. hours after midnight; early morning hours.

   We danced into the small hours.

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small hours British  

plural noun

1. the early hours of the morning, after midnight and before dawn

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small hours Idioms  

1. Also, wee hours. The hours following midnight, as in I stayed up working through the small hours, or The parents didn't come home until the wee hours. The adjectives small and wee both refer to the low numbers of those hours (one o'clock, two o'clock, etc.). [c. 1830]

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Etymology

Origin of small hours

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Savage added that this joy in the face of institutional indifference to our suffering, our dancing into the small hours of the night, was indispensable for establishing political force and pushback during the AIDs crisis.

From Salon

Michaels’ new friend Paul Simon would often be over, smoking a joint with his host and gabbing away until the wee small hours of the morning.

From Los Angeles Times

Meetings stretching into the small hours of Doha's hot evenings became common during the final stretch of the negotiations.

From BBC

Then maybe home for dinner and then somewhere for a party into the small hours.

From BBC

But as the puddles swell and the temperature drops in the small hours at Battersea Park Athletics Club, the only thing on runners’ minds is survival.

From BBC