after hours

1 of 2

phrase

: after the regular quitting or closing time

after-hours

2 of 2

adjective

af·​ter-hours ˌaf-tər-ˈau̇(-ə)rz 

: engaged in or operating after a legal or conventional closing time

after-hours drinking

an after-hours club

Examples of after hours in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Phrase

However, the 16th century relic didn’t open after hours of painstaking trial-and-error. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 4 Nov. 2026

Police said in a statement that the Suisun City resident had previously been arrested, sentenced and released in connection with a separate shooting that took place in 2025 in the parking lot of a local high school after hours. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026

Adjective

The film’s giddy opening moments fall into a tradition of New York movies that sweep us up, in a disorienting, intoxicating blur, into the city’s after-hours enclaves. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2026

The two were at the same party at an after-hours club housed inside what was listed as a tax office when Haynes opened fire. — Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Phrase

1781, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1892, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for after hours

• devours
• empowers
• sunflowers
• bowers
• flours
• flowers
• gowers
• ours
• scours
• showers
• sours
• towers