rush hour

noun

: a period of the day when the demands especially of traffic or business are at a peak

Examples of rush hour in a Sentence

We got caught in the morning rush hour.

Recent Examples on the Web

An original member of KMBC’s FirstNews team in the late 1980s, Rowlands became a familiar voice helping viewers navigate the morning rush hour. — Kansas City Star, 13 Nov. 2026

During the day, Barcelona's metro and public buses stopped running outside rush hour. — Arkansas Online, 12 Nov. 2026

Barcelona’s metro and public buses stopped running outside rush hour. — Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026

Manny’s Deli in the South Loop, the 95th Street Red Line at rush hour, and a polling place in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side. — Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rush hour

• bower
• cower
• dour
• flour
• flower
• fower
• glower
• our
• power
• scour
• shower
• sour

Kids Definition

rush hour

noun

: a period of the day when traffic is very heavy or business is very brisk