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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Commuters in New York and Connecticut were experiencing heavy delays Friday after a Thursday evening outage hampered Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad service through Connecticut, and sources said delays or cancellation would likely extend into the p.m. rush hour. Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025 As the afternoon rush hour approached, the Florida Department of Transportation said drivers should avoid the MacArthur Causeway connecting Miami Beach to Miami due to flooding on the ramps. Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 2 June 2025 This peak time service could earn income, but only at those peak times like rush hour or holiday crush–when a lot of people want to use their cars. Brad Templeton, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025 Managing these attacks required a degree of foresight, a mental map of the neighborhood, even a sense of a human week’s rhythm—understanding, for instance, the difference between weekday rush hours and weekend lulls. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for rush hour

Word History

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rush hour was in 1878

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rush hour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rush%20hour. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

rush hour

noun
: a period of the day when traffic is very heavy or business is very brisk
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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