hours

¹ British  

/ aʊəz /

plural noun

1. a period regularly or customarily appointed for work, business, etc

2. one's times of rising and going to bed (esp in the phrases keep regular, irregular, or late hours )

3. an indefinite period of time

4. Also called (in the Roman Catholic Church): canonical hours. 

   1. the seven times of the day laid down for the recitation of the prayers of the divine office

   2. the prayers recited at these times

5. the hours just after midnight

6. until very late

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Hours ² British  

/ aʊəz /

plural noun

1. another word for the Horae

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Example Sentences

Alexander Graham Bell’s 1876 patent for the telephone beat rival Elisha Gray by hours, sparking a contentious legal battle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, placed a series of lucrative trades in the days and immediate hours before his colleagues in the service snuck into Caracas and took Maduro.

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026

The first batch of Mag 7 earnings will also come just hours after the Federal Reserve delivers its April interest-rate decision, which is also likely to be the last led by outgoing Chair Jerome Powell.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

The figures showed that patients spent an average of 21-and-a-half hours in Altnagelvin's emergency department last month before being admitted to the Londonderry hospital.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

The atrium is busy, lots of people arriving at their lunch hours to fill out forms and check on the status of their applications.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse