Synonyms

H-hour

American

[eych-ou^uhr, -ou-er] / ˈeɪtʃˌaʊər, -ˌaʊ ər /

noun

Military.

the time, usually unspecified, set for the beginning of a planned attack.

H-hour British

noun

Also called: zero hour. military the specific hour at which any operation commences

"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

Etymology

Origin of H-hour

First recorded in 1918; H (for hour ) + hour; cf. D-day

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.

See Examples For:

H-hour

Stormed Utah Beach at H-hour on D-Day as part of the 4th Infantry Division.

From Washington Post

At last, after the logistical errors are rectified, the children mollified and the milkman notified, the camper sets his H-hour for some occult reason at 6 o'clock the next morning.

From Time Magazine Archive

Some 30 hours before H-hour General Eisenhower made the great decision.

From Time Magazine Archive

Long before H-hour, millions of expectant televiewers across the U.S. were gathered around their sets.

From Time Magazine Archive

We breathed the standard helium-oxygen mix at normal pressure until about four hours before H-hour.

From The Trouble with Telstar by Schoenherr, John

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