rush hour

American  

noun

• rush hours
  plural

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.

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rush hour British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rush-hour
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rush hours
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rush hour

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rush hour

But for the Mets, this has gone as well as trying to navigate the Van Wyck Expressway at rush hour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The flow eventually waned but picked up again during the morning rush hour on Wednesday as workers crossed over from the Spanish side.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Travel disruption continued into Friday rush hour for some, with delays and cancellations reported.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

That’s why ICE’s reputation, never particularly positive around here, is now somewhere between hantavirus and rush hour on the Sepulveda Pass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

He didn’t belong in this multitude of monsters any more than the Minotaur belonged in Penn Station at rush hour.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• congestion
• traffic jam