hourly

American  

[ouuhr-lee, ou-er-] / ˈaʊər li, ˈaʊ ər- /

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, occurring, or done each successive hour.

   hourly news reports.

2. computed or totaled in terms of an hour; using an hour as a basic unit of reckoning.

   hourly wages.

3. hired to work for wages by the hour.

   hourly workers.

4. frequent; continual.

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adverb

1. every hour; hour by hour.

2. at each hour or during every hour.

3. frequently; continually.

hourly British  

/ ˈaʊəlɪ /

adjective

1. of, occurring, or done every hour

2. done in or measured by the hour

   we are paid an hourly rate

3. continual or frequent

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adverb

1. every hour

2. at any moment or time

Etymology

Origin of hourly

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at hour, -ly

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hourly

One wrinkle for workers: Average hourly pay was up 3.1% year-over-year, showing that wages continue to struggle to keep pace with inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Average hourly earnings over the past 12 months, meanwhile, rose 3.1%, says the Labor Department.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

It is certainly worth looking deeper into your weather app forecasts to see the hourly breakdown as showers can sometimes be tricky to forecast.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

The fallout from the 2016 Actors’ Equity Assn. agreement, which imposed an hourly minimum wage for members who perform in Los Angeles County theater with fewer than 100 seats, is still being felt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

They would race first, for a distance of two miles, followed at hourly intervals by the junior varsity and the varsity, each racing for three miles.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• annual
• intermittent
• monthly
• occasional
• recurrent
• recurring
• regular
• repeated
• routine
• seasonal
• sporadic
• weekly
• yearly