hour

[ ouuhr, ou-er ]

/ aʊər, ˈaʊ ər /

Save This Word!

noun

a period of time equal to one twenty-fourth of a mean solar or civil day and equivalent to 60 minutes: He slept for an hour.

any specific one of these 24 periods, usually reckoned in two series of 12, one series from midnight to noon and the second from noon to midnight, but sometimes reckoned in one series of 24, from midnight to midnight: He slept for the hour between 2 and 3 a.m. The hour for the bombardment was between 1300 and 1400.

any specific time of day; the time indicated by a timepiece: What is the hour?

a short or limited period of time: He savored his hour of glory.

a particular or appointed time: What was the hour of death? At what hour do you open?

a customary or usual time: When is your dinner hour?

the present time: the man of the hour.

hours,

time spent in an office, factory, or the like, or for work, study, etc.: The doctor's hours were from 10 to 4. What an employee does after hours is his or her own business.
customary time of going to bed and getting up: to keep late hours.
(in the Christian church) the seven stated times of the day for prayer and devotion.
the offices or services prescribed for these times.
a book containing them.

distance normally covered in an hour's traveling: We live about an hour from the city.

Astronomy. a unit of measure of right ascension representing 15°, or the twenty-fourth part of a great circle.

a single period, as of class instruction or therapeutic consultation, usually lasting from 40 to 55 minutes.Compare clock-hour.

Education.Also called credit hour. one unit of academic credit, usually representing attendance at one scheduled period of instruction per week throughout a semester, quarter, or term.

the Hours, Classical Mythology. the Horae.

adjective

of, relating to, or noting an hour.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about hour

one's hour,

Also one's last hour. the instant of death: The sick man knew that his hour had come.
any crucial moment.

Origin of hour

1175–1225; Middle English (h)oure<Anglo-French; Old French (h)ore<Latin hōra<Greek hṓrā time, season

OTHER WORDS FROM hour

hourless, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH hour

are, hour , our

Words nearby hour

Hounsfield, hounskull, Hounslow, Houphouet-Boigny, houppelande, hour, hour angle, hour circle, hourglass, hourglass contraction, hourglass murmur

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use hour in a sentence

Even in our southern areas, the snow will not last that long, tapering off in the predawn hours Friday and mostly over by sunrise.
Snow expected tonight, mainly south of D.C., before possible ice on Saturday|Jason Samenow, Wes Junker|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
Even an hour after Capitol barricades were breached — something that played widely on cable news — we have no real evidence he was truly “horrified,” and plenty that he wasn’t.
The important thing about the Mike Lee impeachment trial dust-up|Aaron Blake|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
The best heated vests will have batteries that are easy and quick to recharge, heat the vest quickly upon wearing, and offer many hours of warmth and comfort between charges.
Best heated vest: Beat the cold weather with the right winter gear|PopSci Commerce Team|February 9, 2021|Popular-Science
Martin likes to compare the challenge that RapidSOS is setting out to tackle to that of an hour glass.
RapidSOS raises $85M for a big data platform aimed at emergency responders|Ingrid Lunden|February 9, 2021|TechCrunch

If your pet is an Afghan hound or a St Bernard, you should not expect it to be interested in spending hours fetching toys for you.
Is your dog actually smart? Depends on its memory.|By Jan Hoole/The Conversation|February 8, 2021|Popular-Science
So here I am in my requisite Lululemon pants, grunting along to an old hip-hop song at a most ungodly hour.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
An hour later, he scored a second flight to Johannesburg for $380.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He was released within the hour without a bond on his own recognizance.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?|Goldie Taylor|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The child almost died from the delay of an hour in seeking help.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her phone rings at least once an hour with questions from journalists, which she answers in Arabic, English, and sometimes French.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The night wore on, and the clock downstairs was striking the hour of two when she suddenly awakened.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The sound of my step shall make your heart jump; a look from me shall make you dumb for an hour.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Words are often everywhere as the minute-hands of the soul, more important than even the hour-hands of action.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
After an hour, however, he reached this decision: He would not go to or call up Mrs. Merley.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
It was the darkest hour of twilight, when there was just enough of gleam from the lurid sky, to shew the outline of objects.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

British Dictionary definitions for hour

hour

/ (aʊə) /

noun

a period of time equal to 3600 seconds; 1/24 th of a calendar dayRelated adjectives: horal, horary

any of the points on the face of a timepiece that indicate intervals of 60 minutes

the hour an exact number of complete hoursthe bus leaves on the hour

the time of day as indicated by a watch, clock, etc

the period of time allowed for or used for somethingthe lunch hour; the hour of prayer

a special moment or periodour finest hour

the hour the present timethe man of the hour

the distance covered in an hourwe live an hour from the city

astronomy an angular measurement of right ascension equal to 15° or a 24th part of the celestial equator

one's hour

a time of success, fame, etc
Also: one's last hour the time of one's deathhis hour had come

take one's hour Irish informal to do something in a leisurely manner

Word Origin for hour

C13: from Old French hore, from Latin hōra, from Greek: season

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

Scientific definitions for hour

hour

[ our ]

A unit of time equal to one of the 24 equal parts of a day; 60 minutes.♦ A sidereal hour is 124 of a sidereal day, and a mean solar hour is 124 of a mean solar day. See more at sidereal time solar time.

A unit of measure of longitude or right ascension, equal to 15° or 124 of a great circle.

Other Idioms and Phrases with hour

hour

see after hours; all hours; by the day (hour); eleventh hour; happy hour; keep late hours; on the hour; small hours.

hour

Idioms about hour

Origin of hour

OTHER WORDS FROM hour

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH hour

Words nearby hour

Words related to hour

How to use hour in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hour

Word Origin for hour

Scientific definitions for hour

Other Idioms and Phrases with hour