golden hour

British

noun

the first hour after a serious accident, when it is crucial that the victim receives medical treatment in order to have a chance of surviving

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

On some blocks , a sense of near-normalcy is surreal: A dad and his young son play basketball in a driveway amid a stretch of still-standing homes on Ocampo Drive during golden hour.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025

Now there is a worry they've missed their golden hour.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2024

Perhaps it’s just that Fulton County golden hour light, blazing in to accentuate every bulge and crevice on the defendants’ faces.

From Slate • Aug. 24, 2023

By the time I finished, it was golden hour, and I headed to the canals of the Navigli district for an aperitivo, the Italian tradition of a pre-dinner drink with a small bite.

From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2023

The divers would hope to find the child within sixty minutes, a time span known as the golden hour.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023