three o'clock

noun

The start of the fourth hour of the day; 3:00 a.m. (03:00).

“We've got a bogey at three o'clock.”

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Meanings

nounthree o'clock (uncountable)
  1. uncountableIn both the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clockThe start of the fourth hour of the day; 3:00 a.m. (03:00).

    The front desk closes at three o'clock (= "The front desk closes at 3:00 a.m.").

  2. uncountableOnly in the 12-hour clockThe start of the sixteenth hour of the day; 3:00 p.m. (15:00).

    The next train comes at three o'clock (= "The next train comes at 15:00").

  3. informaluncountableTo the right (horizontal clock orientation) (from the location of the 3 mark on a clock face)

    We've got a bogey at three o'clock.

Translations

Arabic اَلسَّاعَة اَلثَّالٰثَة
  • اَلسَّاعَة اَلثَّالٰثَة (as-sāʕa ṯ-ṯalāṯa)the start of the fourth hour
Catalan les tres
  • les tresthe start of the fourth hour
Chinese Mandarin 三點鐘 /三点钟
  • 三點鐘 /三点钟 (sān diǎn zhōng)the start of the fourth hour
Finnish kolme, kello kolme
  • kolmethe start of the fourth hour
  • kello kolmethe start of the fourth hour
French trois heures
  • trois heuresthe start of the fourth hour
German drei Uhr
  • drei Uhrthe start of the fourth hour
Icelandic klukkan þrjú
  • klukkan þrjúthe start of the fourth hour
Japanese 三時
  • 三時 (san-ji)the start of the fourth hour
Korean 세시
  • 세시 (sesi)the start of the fourth hour
Latin hora tertia
  • hora tertiathe start of the fourth hour
Polish trzecia
  • trzeciathe start of the fourth hour
Portuguese três horas
  • três horasthe start of the fourth hour
Russian три часа́
  • три часа́ (tri časá)the start of the fourth hour
Spanish las tres
  • las tresthe start of the fourth hour
Swedish klockan tre
  • klockan trethe start of the fourth hour
Vietnamese ba giờ
  • ba giờthe start of the fourth hour
Cite this entry
APA

three o'clock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/three%20o'clock

MLA

“three o'clock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/three%20o'clock. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “three o'clock,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/three%20o'clock.

Source: three o'clock on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.