hour

[ouuh r, ou-er] /aʊər, ˈaʊ ər/
noun
1.
a 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.
any 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.
  1. 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.
  2. customary time of going to bed and getting up:
    to keep late hours.
  3. (in the Christian church) the seven stated times of the day for prayer and devotion.
  4. the offices or services prescribed for these times.
  5. a book containing them.
9.
distance normally covered in an hour's traveling:
We live about an hour from the city.
10.
Astronomy. 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.
Compare clock-hour.
12.
Education. Also 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.
the Hours, Classical Mythology. the Horae.
adjective
14.
of, pertaining to, or noting an hour.
Idioms
15.
one's hour,
  1. Also, one's last hour. the instant of death:
    The sick man knew that his hour had come.
  2. any crucial moment.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English (h)oure < Anglo-French; Old French (h)ore < Latin hōra < Greek hṓrā time, season
Related forms
hourless, adjective
Can be confused
are, hour, our.
Examples from the web for hours
  • It's something that everybody needs, and according to the experts, seven to eight hours a day is the normal amount.
  • When darkness falls, a built-in sensor turns on the lights, which glow for up to eight hours.
  • Closer to the poles, the number of daylight hours increases in summer and decreases in winter.
  • All dressmaking establishments give precedence to mourning orders and will fill a commission within twenty-four hours.
  • Cover closely, and bake two hours, turning after the first hour.
  • Bake in a moderate oven three or four hours, basting every fifteen minutes with fat in pan.
  • Games comprise either one or two innings, and can last five full days or be as short as a few hours.
  • The exposure time can be more than two hours, depending on the building's size.
  • Flights that once took four or five hours are taking five or six.
  • We are currently updating the site and should be back within a few hours.
British Dictionary definitions for hours

hours

/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 small hours, the hours just after midnight
6.
till all hours, until very late

Hours

/aʊəz/
plural noun
1.
another word for the Horae

hour

/aʊə/
noun
1.
a period of time equal to 3600 seconds; 1/24th of a calendar day related adjectives horal horary
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 time of day as indicated by a watch, clock, etc
5.
the period of time allowed for or used for something: the lunch hour, the hour of prayer
6.
a special moment or period: our finest hour
7.
the hour, the present time: the man of the hour
8.
the distance covered in an hour: we live an hour from the city
9.
(astronomy) an angular measurement of right ascension equal to 15° or a 24th part of the celestial equator
10.
one's hour
  1. a time of success, fame, etc
  2. Also one's last hour. the time of one's death: his hour had come
11.
(Irish, informal) take one's hour, to do something in a leisurely manner
See also hours
Word Origin
C13: from Old French hore, from Latin hōra, from Greek: season
Word Origin and History for hours

hour

n.

mid-13c., from Old French hore "one-twelfth of a day" (sunrise to sunset), from Latin hora "hour, time, season," from Greek hora "any limited time," from PIE *yor-a-, from root *yer- "year, season" (see year). Greek hora was "a season; 'the season;'" in classical times, sometimes, "a part of the day," such as morning, evening, noon, night. The Greek astronomers apparently borrowed the notion of dividing the day into twelve parts (mentioned in Herodotus) from the Babylonians (night continued to be divided into four watches), but as the amount of daylight changed throughout the year, the hours were not fixed or of equal length. Equinoctal hours did not become established in Europe until the 4c., and as late as 16c. distinction sometimes was made between temporary (unequal) hours and sidereal (equal) ones. The h- has persisted in this word despite not being pronounced since Roman times. Replaced Old English tid, literally "time," and stund "period of time." As a measure of distance ("the distance that can be covered in an hour") it is recorded from 1785.

hours in Science
hour
(our)

  1. A unit of time equal to one of the 24 equal parts of a day; 60 minutes. ◇ A sidereal hour is 1/24 of a sidereal day, and a mean solar hour is 1/24 of a mean solar day. See more at sidereal time, solar time.

  2. A unit of measure of longitude or right ascension, equal to 15° or 1/24 of a great circle.


Slang definitions & phrases for hours

hour

Related Terms

dead hour


hours in the Bible

First found in Dan. 3:6; 4:19, 33;5:5. It is the rendering of the Chaldee shaah, meaning a "moment," a "look." It is used in the New Testament frequently to denote some determinate season (Matt. 8:13; Luke 12:39). With the ancient Hebrews the divisions of the day were "morning, evening, and noon-day" (Ps. 55:17, etc.). The Greeks, following the Babylonians, divided the day into twelve hours. The Jews, during the Captivity, learned also from the Babylonians this method of dividing time. When Judea became subject to the Romans, the Jews adopted the Roman mode of reckoning time. The night was divided into four watches (Luke 12:38; Matt. 14:25; 13:25). Frequent allusion is also made to hours (Matt. 25:13; 26:40, etc.). (See DAY.) An hour was the twelfth part of the day, reckoning from sunrise to sunset, and consequently it perpetually varied in length.

Idioms and Phrases with hours

hour

see:
Encyclopedia Article for hours

hour

in timekeeping, 3,600 seconds, now defined in terms of radiation emitted from atoms of the element cesium under specified conditions. The hour was formerly defined as the 24th part of a mean solar day-i.e., of the average period of rotation of the Earth relative to the Sun. The hour of sidereal time, 124 of the Earth's rotation period relative to the stars, was about 10 seconds shorter than the hour of mean solar time.

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