hour

plural hours · alternative obsolete hower · alternative obsolete houre · alternative obsolete howre

1. timeA unit of time of one twenty-fourth of a day (sixty minutes).

   I spent an hour at lunch.

   5 more examples

   Holonyms: day < week < megasecond < fortnight < month < year < gigasecond < century < kiloannum, kiloyear, millennium < terasecond < mega-annum, megayear < petasecond < giga-annum, gigayear < exasecond < zettasecond < yottasecond < ronnasecond < quettasecond

   Meronyms: quectosecond < rontosecond < yoctosecond < zeptosecond < attosecond < femtosecond < picosecond < nanosecond < microsecond < millisecond < centisecond < decisecond < second < decasecond < minute < hectosecond < kilosecond

   Near-synonym: microcentury (humorous approximation)

   There's a bus at 20 past the hour.

   We still have a couple hours left to do in the yard.

   Synonyms: stound, microcentury

2. A season, moment, or time.

   Don't come home ever again at this unearthly hour.

   2 more examples

   From childhood's hour I have not been / As others were; I have not seen / As others saw; I could not bring / My passions from a common spring.

   c. 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Alone”, in Archived copy, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2017

   Now will be a good hour to show you Milly Erne's grave.

   1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 3, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC

3. poeticThe time.

   The hour grows late and I must go home.

4. in pluralgovernmentUsed after a two-digit hour and a two-digit minute to indicate time.

   By 1300 hours the position was fairly clear.

   2000, T. C. G. James, edited by Sebastian Cox, The Battle of Britain, →ISBN

5. in pluralThe amount of labor demanded by an employer in terms of time.

   I asked my manager for more hours.

   1 more example

   The shop wasn't giving me enough hours so I started searching for a second job.

6. in pluralChristianityThe set times of prayer, the canonical hours, the offices or services prescribed for these, or a book containing them.
7. USA distance that can be traveled in one hour.

   This place is an hour away from where I live.