before the hour

idiom

used with a certain number of minutes to indicate how long before the beginning of an hour something will happen
Trains leave the station every hour at ten minutes before the hour.

Examples of before the hour in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
And who else was sent to the jury house before the hour was up? Rebecca Iannucci, TVLine, 26 Sep. 2024 Demiral got his second of the game when the defender powered a header home shortly before the hour mark. Ben Morse, CNN, 2 July 2024

Dictionary Entries Near before the hour

Cite this Entry

“Before the hour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/before%20the%20hour. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

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