happy hour

American  

noun

1. a cocktail hour or longer period at a bar, during which drinks are served at reduced prices or with free snacks.

   happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m.

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happy hour British  

noun

1. a time, usually in the early evening, when some pubs or bars sell drinks at reduced prices

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happy hour Idioms  

1. A period in the late afternoon or early evening when a bar or lounge features drinks at reduced prices. For example, The hotel bar has a happy hour from five to seven every day. [1960s]

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Etymology

Origin of happy hour

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

It’s a Friday night happy hour at Distrito Catorce bar in Boyle Heights, and the regulars note that the crowd listening to Spanish-language jams has a few more unfamiliar faces than usual.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

“I think he’s running out of steam,” a few of my D.C. happy hour comrades confessed Wednesday after the hearings, “Or he’s really sicker than he lets on.”

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

Mitchell says the happy hour is always a good time and a chance to “show up as your authentic self, be in community and queen out with your girls.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026

Steve Millington, the general manager and CFO of the old-school power-lunch spot Michael’s, decided to institute the Midtown restaurant’s first-ever happy hour in 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

The adventures of Rainbow and her young mistress, Edith-Anne Pevington, had filled many a happy hour curled up on the window seat of Miss Mortimer’s office.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood