definitions

witching hour

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR witching hour ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

midnight: a rendezvous at the witching hour.

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RELATED WORDS

midnight

Nearby words

witches' sabbath, witches'-besom, witches'-broom, witchetty grub, witching, witching hour, witchingly, witchweed, witchy, wite, witenagemot

Origin of witching hour

First recorded in 1825–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for witching hour

witching hour

noun

the witching hour the hour at which witches are supposed to appear, usually midnight
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

Idioms and Phrases with witching hour

witching hour

Midnight, as in They arrived just at the witching hour. This term alludes to older superstitions concerning a time appropriate to witchcraft and other supernatural occurrences. Shakespeare and others wrote of “the witching time of night.” The precise phrase was first recorded in 1835.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.