hour

noun

\ ˈau̇(-ə)r

Definition of hour

1 : a time or office for daily liturgical devotion especially : canonical hour

2 : the 24th part of a day : 60 minutes

3a : the time of day reckoned in two 12-hour periods

b hours plural : the time reckoned in one 24-hour period from midnight to midnight using a 4-digit number of which the first two digits indicate the hour and the last two digits indicate the minute in the military 4:30 p.m. is called 1630 hours

4a : a customary or particular time lunch hour in our hour of need also : moment sense 1b hero of the hour

b hours plural : time of going to bed keeps late hours also : time of working banker's hours

5 : an angular unit of right ascension equal to 15 degrees measured along the celestial equator

6 : the work done or distance traveled at normal rate in an hour the city was two hours away

7a : a class session

b : credit hour, semester hour

after hours

: after the regular quitting or closing time

Examples of hour in a Sentence

She wasn't supposed to eat for six hours before the operation. You'll be paid by the hour for this job. The job pays ten dollars an hour. She exercises for a full hour every day. She was half an hour late. They arrived a few hours later. The project required long hours of work. The mood changed from hour to hour. These animals are most active in the hour just before sunrise. You can call me at any hour of the day or night.

Recent Examples on the Web

Shipt employs shoppers to pick up items and deliver them to customers in as little as one hour. — Dami Lee, The Verge, "Target’s Shipt same-day delivery service will expand to take on Amazon and Walmart," 18 Dec. 2018 Fasting at least 12 hours a day; patients usually don’t eat anything after 7 p.m. until the next morning. — Linda Marsa, Discover Magazine, "A New Treatment for Alzheimer's? It Starts With Lifestyle," 16 Nov. 2018 While it hasn't been confirmed whether or not the two of them will actually perform the new collab together, Shawn is set to take the stage in the show's first hour. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Shawn Mendes and Miley Cyrus Might Perform Together at the 2019 Grammys!," 7 Feb. 2019 Gagosian’s Sarah Hoover appeared impossibly fresh-faced having just returned from Cuba hours before. — Ian Malone, Vogue, "Dianna Agron Hosts a Dinner for her Favorite Shoemaker Fabrizio Viti," 6 Feb. 2019 In general, full sun is considered 6 to 8 hours per day. — Arricca Sansone, Country Living, "Annuals vs. Perennials: Everything You Need to Know," 1 Feb. 2019 Cook, covered, until wheat berries are tender but still a bit chewy, 7 to 8 hours on Low or 4 to 5 hours on High. — Woman's Day Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chili," 30 Jan. 2019 Marking her first foray into athletic-wear, the first drop of Victoria Beckham x Reebok features sleek sports bras, tracksuits, and a turtleneck-esque sweatshirt that (sadly) sold out in less than 12 hours. — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Harper's BAZAAR, "Victoria Beckham Was Her Own Muse for Her Reebok Collection," 24 Jan. 2019 One study found that only 15% of teens reported getting 8 1/2 hours of rest on a school night. — Brittney Mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Why Schools Should Start Later and Teens Should Sleep More," 4 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hour.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.