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.
To kill some time before cocktail hour, I visited the free Richelieu Library, where I joined other tourists peering into the Labrouste Room, canopied with a Byzantine-inspired nine-dome ceiling.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026
I arrived at Gustavino’s, the tony East Side venue, midway through the 6 p.m. cocktail hour.
From Slate • Mar. 3, 2025
The idea that these corporations place profit above health is not just a cocktail hour talking point gleaned from some book review – it is deeply ingrained in the community’s memory.
From Salon • Aug. 20, 2024
Only the event’s stacked red carpet is watchable — the gala’s cocktail hour and dinner are notoriously private events.
From Seattle Times • May 5, 2024
At seven o’clock on a cool November night, guests will arrive at the Robert E. Lee Hotel bar for the cocktail hour.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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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.