VOOZH about

URL: https://www.wordreference.com/definition/hour

⇱ hour - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

hour

Listen:
UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈaʊər/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/aʊr, ˈaʊɚ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ouər, ou′ər)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hour /aʊr, ˈaʊɚ/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Timea period of time equal to 1&sfracdenom;24&sfracend; of a day or 60 minutes.
  2. Timeany specific one of these 24 periods.
  3. a particular or appointed time:At what hour do you open? (= At what time do you open?)
  4. a customary or usual time:at the dinner hour.
  5. the present time:news of the hour.
  6. hours, [plural]
    • time spent working, etc.:The doctor's hours were from 10 to 4.
    • the usual time of going to bed and getting up:likes to keep late hours.
  7. the distance normally covered in an hour's traveling:We live about an hour from the city.
  8. a single period, as of instruction, usually lasting from 40 to 55 minutes:The class meets four hours a week.
  9. Educationcredit hour.
Idioms
  1. on the hour, at the start of each hour:The shuttle leaves every hour on the hour.


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hour  (ouər, ou′ər),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Timea period of time equal to one twenty-fourth of a mean solar or civil day and equivalent to 60 minutes:He slept for an hour.
  2. Timeany specific one of these 24 periods, usually reckoned in two series of 12, one series from midnight to noon and the second from noon to midnight, but sometimes reckoned in one series of 24, from midnight to midnight:He slept for the hour between 2 and 3 a.m. The hour for the bombardment was between 1300 and 1400.
  3. any specific time of day;
    the time indicated by a timepiece:What is the hour?
  4. a short or limited period of time:He savored his hour of glory.
  5. a particular or appointed time:What was the hour of death? At what hour do you open?
  6. a customary or usual time:When is your dinner hour?
  7. the present time:the man of the hour.
  8. hours:
    • time spent in an office, factory, or the like, or for work, study, etc.:The doctor's hours were from 10 to 4. What an employee does after hours is his or her own business.
    • customary time of going to bed and getting up:to keep late hours.
    • (in the Christian church) the seven stated times of the day for prayer and devotion.
    • the offices or services prescribed for these times.
    • a book containing them.
  9. distance normally covered in an hour's traveling:We live about an hour from the city.
  10. [Astron.]a unit of measure of right ascension representing 15°, or the twenty-fourth part of a great circle.
  11. a single period, as of class instruction or therapeutic consultation, usually lasting from 40 to 55 minutes. Cf. clock-hour.
  12. EducationAlso called credit hour. one unit of academic credit, usually representing attendance at one scheduled period of instruction per week throughout a semester, quarter, or term.
  13. Mythology the Hours, [Class. Myth.]the Horae.
  14. Idioms one's hour:
    • Also, one's last hour. the instant of death:The sick man knew that his hour had come.
    • any crucial moment.

adj. 
  1. of, pertaining to, or noting an hour.
  • Greek hó̄rā time, season
  • Latin hōra
  • Anglo-French; Old French (h)ore
  • Middle English (h)oure 1175–1225
hour′less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
hour /aʊə/ n
  1. a period of time equal to 3600 seconds; 1⁄24th of a calendar day
  2. any of the points on the face of a timepiece that indicate intervals of 60 minutes
  3. the hour ⇒ an exact number of complete hours: the bus leaves on the hour
  4. the period of time allowed for or used for something: the lunch hour, the hour of prayer
  5. a special moment or period: our finest hour
  6. the distance covered in an hour: we live an hour from the city
  7. an angular measurement of right ascension equal to 15° or a 24th part of the celestial equator
  8. one's hour ⇒
    • a time of success, fame, etc
    • Also: one's last hour the time of one's death
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French hore, from Latin hōra, from Greek: season
'hour' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: at a very late hour, during [work, office] hours, during the late hours of the night, more...

Forum discussions with the word(s) "hour" in the title:

'After' an hour, you are free to go ['In' an hour?]
(at) about 300 kilometers per hour
(but) not in one hour
[a cocktail] hour
[Happen] an hour and a half
[minutes] after/past [the hour]
0.5 hour or 0.5 hours
00:00 and 00:24 [saying reading time in 24-hour system]
12 hours rest/ 12 hours' rest/12 hour rest
12-hour days??? 12-hour a day???
12-hour or 12-hours?
12-hour shift
16 hours a day/16-hour days
18-hour days
2 kWh = 2 kilowatt-hour<s>?
2-hour delay / delay of 2 hours
"2-hour delay" vs "2 hours' delay"
2-hour duration
24 hour clock
24 hour fitness center with 'Jr.'
24 hour, 24-hour or 24 hours gas station
24-hour protection
30-mile-an-hour zone
45 minutes to an hour of some other activity
48 hour / hours protection
48 hour blend [coffee]
48-hour news cycle
50-150 per hour
60 miles per hour
72-hour passes
more...

Look up "hour" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "hour" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!
Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.
Firefox users: use search shortcuts for the fastest search of WordReference.
Copyright © 2026 WordReference.com
Please report any problems.