- [countable] (abbreviation hr, hr.)60 minutes; one of the 24 parts that a day is divided into
- I spent an hour on the phone.
- It will take about an hour to get there.
- It usually takes me two hours to walk there.
- The interview lasted half an hour.
- It was a three-hour exam.
- Most cats sleep 13–16 hours a day.
- Architects can expect to spend 40 hours a week in meetings.
- for an hour I waited for a couple of hours and then I left.
- in an hour He'll be back in an hour.
- In less than twenty-four hours it would be Christmas.
- by the hour We're paid by the hour.
- per/an hour Top speed is 120 miles per hour.
- The rate of pay is £10.50 an hour.
- within the hour We hope to be there within the hour (= in less than an hour).
- York was within an hour's drive.
- He crossed the line in a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes.
- Chicago is two hours away (= it takes two hours to get there).
- We're four hours ahead of New York (= referring to the time difference).
- I sat there, hour after hour, staring at a blank computer screen.
Extra ExamplesTopics Timea1- He's been gone for over an hour.
- I should be back within a couple of hours.
- I sat there for two hours.
- I slept for eight solid hours.
- It takes two hours to get to London.
- She grew more worried with every passing hour.
- She worked for three hours.
- The performance lasted three hours.
- There are still two hours of daylight left.
- You gain five hours when you fly from New York to London.
- an hour of rest
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- full
- solid
- contact
- …
- take
- spend
- waste
- …
- go by
- pass
- by the hour
- for an hour
- in an hour
- …
- half an hour
- hour after hour
- in an hour’s time
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [countable, usually singular] a period of about an hour, used for a particular purpose
- I spent my lunch hour shopping.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- lunch
- peak
- rush
- …
- spend
- hour of
- hours[plural] a fixed period of time during which people work, an office is open, etc.
- Opening hours are from 10 to 6 each day.
- Most people in this kind of job tend to work long hours.
- during office, business, etc. hours The library is open during normal working hours.
- What are your office hours?
- a hospital’s visiting hours
- Britain's licensing hours (= when pubs are allowed to open) used to be very restricted.
- after hours This is the only place to get a drink after hours (= after the normal closing time for pubs).
- out of hours You can contact me on this number out of hours (= when the office is closed).
Extra ExamplesTopics Timea2- Doctors often have to work out of hours.
- He keeps regular hours.
- He spends a lot of time in his office after hours.
- Bakers have to work unsocial hours.
- She works very long hours.
- the number of contact hours (= working hours spent with students or clients, not working alone) per week
- The office is closed between the hours of twelve and two.
- the hours of darkness
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- office
- opening
- visiting
- …
- work
- keep
- after hour
- out of hour
- hours[plural] a long time
- It took hours getting there.
- It took us hours to find out what was wrong.
- ‘How long did it last?’ ‘Oh, hours and hours.’
- Where have you been? I've been waiting hours.
- for hours I've been waiting for hours.
- [singular] a particular point in time
- You can't turn him away at this hour of the night.
- The hour had come for us to leave.
- [countable, usually singular] the time when something important happens
- This was often thought of as the country's finest hour.
- She thought her last hour had come.
- Don't desert me in my hour of need.
- She helped me in my hour of need.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- darkest
- finest
- antisocial
- …
- come
- between the hours of
- hour of
- your hour of need
- the hour[singular] the time when it is exactly 1 o’clock, 2 o’clock, etc.
- The clock struck the hour.
- ten minutes past the hour
- on the hour There's a bus every hour on the hour
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + the hour- chime
- strike
- on the hour
- past the hour
- to the hour
- …
- hours[plural] used when giving the time according to the 24-hour clock, usually in military or other official language
- The first missile was launched at 2300 hours (= at 11 p.m.). This is pronounced ‘23 hundred hours’.
More Like This Silent lettersSilent letters
Word OriginMiddle English: from Anglo-Norman French ure, via Latin from Greek hōra ‘season, hour’.
Idioms
See hour in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee hour in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishall hours
- any time, especially a time that is not usual or suitable
- He's started staying out till all hours (= until very late at night).
- She thinks she can call me at all hours of the day and night.
at the eleventh hour
- at the last possible moment; just in time
at an unearthly hour
- (informal) very early, especially when this is annoying
- The job involved getting up at some unearthly hour to catch the first train.
at an ungodly hour
- (informal) very early or very late and therefore annoying
- I apologize for calling you at this ungodly hour.
the evil hour/day
- (often humorous) the time when you have to do something difficult or unpleasant
- I’d better go and see the dentist—I can’t put off the evil hour any longer.
- If you keep on borrowing, you are only postponing the evil day when you have to pay it all back.
keep… hours
- if you keep regular, strange, etc. hours, the times at which you do things (especially getting up or going to bed) are regular, strange, etc.Topics Timec1
kill time | kill an hour, a couple of hours, etc.
- to spend time doing something that is not important while you are waiting for something else to happen
- We killed time playing cards.
the small/early hours
(also especially Scottish English the wee small hours, especially North American English the wee hours)
- the period of time very early in the morning, soon after midnight
- We worked well into the small hours.
- The fighting began in the early hours of Saturday morning.
- The party continued well into the early hours.
Check pronunciation:
hour