hour circle

noun

: a circle on the celestial sphere that passes through both celestial poles

Examples of hour circle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But all of the watches will keep exacting time, and display it on a Roman numeral hour circle and an Arabic numeral minute track on a silvered disk. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 20 July 2022 Instead of storming the stores or spending hours circling some parking garage, everyone would take a long winter’s nap. Chris Erskine, latimes.com, 1 Dec. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hour circle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1690, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hour circle was in 1690

Dictionary Entries Near hour circle

Cite this Entry

“Hour circle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hour%20circle. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on hour circle

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!