cocktail hour
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of cocktail hour
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Top among them are the United States, where Americans on both coasts enjoy the cocktail hour staple -- but whose interior has yet to be seduced by the spritz.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The New York Times obtained a schedule for the wedding, which included a cocktail hour followed by a 5 p.m. wedding and reception.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
A complex cider with enough of a tart kick to enliven any cocktail hour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
I arrived at Gustavino’s, the tony East Side venue, midway through the 6 p.m. cocktail hour.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
Out of static came the sweet strains of cocktail hour music from the Empire Room of the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
