four-o'clock

American  

[fawr-uh-klok, fohr-] / ˈfɔr əˌklɒk, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

1. a common garden plant, Mirabilis jalapa, of the four-o'clock family, having tubular red, white, yellow, or variegated flowers that open late in the afternoon.

2. any plant of the same genus.

---

four-o'clock British  

noun

1. Also called: marvel-of-Peru.  a tropical American nyctaginaceous plant, Mirabilis jalapa , cultivated for its tubular yellow, red, or white flowers that open in late afternoon

2. another name for friarbird , esp the noisy friarbird ( Philemon corniculatus ): so called because of its cry

---

Etymology

Origin of four-o'clock

First recorded in 1750–60

Example Sentences

I watch Ruby trudge sullenly through the four-o’clock show, and I wonder: What will happen if I fail?

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate

Come four o'clock in the afternoon, Grandma would let me go with her to the garden in the rear of the backyard to water what she called her four-o'clock plants.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals

At the four-o’clock show, Stella can only get as far as the entrance to the ring.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate

The new neighbor arrives after the four-o’clock show.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate

They had planned to catch the four-o’clock train for New York.

From The Innocents A Story for Lovers by Lewis, Sinclair