hourglass

[ ouuhr-glas, -glahs, ou-er- ]
/ ˈaʊərˌglæs, -ˌglɑs, ˈaʊ ər- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR hourglass ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an instrument for measuring time, consisting of two bulbs of glass joined by a narrow passage through which a quantity of sand or mercury runs in just an hour.

adjective

having a notably slim or narrow waist, midsection, or joining segment: She has an hourglass figure.

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Origin of hourglass

First recorded in 1505–15; hour + glass

Words nearby hourglass

Houphouet-Boigny, houppelande, hour, hour angle, hour circle, hourglass, hourglass contraction, hourglass murmur, hourglass stomach, hour hand, houri
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to hourglass

alarm, timer, timepiece, clock, metronome, dial, watch, chronometer, calendar, chronograph, repeater, pendulum, horologe, chronoscope, gnomon, sundial, stopwatch, clepsydra, tattler, timekeeper

Example sentences from the Web for hourglass

British Dictionary definitions for hourglass

hourglass
/ (ˈaʊəˌɡlɑːs) /

noun

a device consisting of two transparent chambers linked by a narrow channel, containing a quantity of sand that takes a specified time to trickle to one chamber from the other
(modifier) well-proportioned with a small waistan hourglass figure
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