rush hour

noun

1. a time of day in which large numbers of people are in transit, as going to or returning from work, and that is characterized by particularly heavy traffic.

rush hour

noun

1. a period at the beginning and end of the working day when large numbers of people are travelling to or from work

Other Words From

• rush-hour adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rush hour¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

He knows the times to avoid downtown so as not to be harassed by the notorious city council and all the panya-routes to avoid during rush hour.

From Quartz

Whatever we choose to blame, the thin cobbled streets had become as intense as the New York subway in rush hour.

From The Daily Beast

Staggering start times is another key consideration, as employees have voiced concerns over commuting via rush hour on crowded public transport.

From Digiday

Have desk fans, let people keep a change of clothes at work, let them travel outside of rush hour, train the managers so that people know they can have a conversation about it.

From Digiday

“If you’re in the typical rush hour on I-270 and the free lanes aren’t moving very rapidly and you need to be somewhere, then you’ll be willing to pay the toll,” he said.

From Washington Post

(Imagine the Flatiron building collapsing one sunny, rush-hour evening).

From The Daily Beast

Our first step was ranking the metropolitan areas with the worst rush-hour congestion.

From The Daily Beast

On his return, he found the trains running on the five-minute, rush-hour schedule.

From Project Gutenberg

Malone hadn't reckoned with New York's rush-hour traffic, and, after seeing it, he still didn't believe it.

From Project Gutenberg

Once underway, the caravan made reckless progress through rush-hour traffic.

From Project Gutenberg

In ten minutes you long for the comparative ease of the rush-hour at Brooklyn Bridge.

From Project Gutenberg

It takes big cars to climb those hills, let alone haul the trailers that are a feature of the Pittsburgh rush-hour traffic.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• congestion
• traffic jam