twelve o'clock

noun

The start of the thirteenth hour of the day; noon (noontime); 12:00 p.m. (12:00).

“The bar closes at twelve o'clock (= "The bar closes at midnight").”

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Meanings

nountwelve o'clock (usually uncountable, plural twelve o'clocks)

plural twelve o'clocks

  1. uncountableusuallyIn both the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clockThe start of the thirteenth hour of the day; noon (noontime); 12:00 p.m. (12:00).

    The next train comes at twelve o'clock (= "The next train comes at noon").

  2. uncountableusuallyOnly in the 12-hour clockThe start of the first hour of the day; midnight; 12:00 a.m. (00:00).

    The bar closes at twelve o'clock (= "The bar closes at midnight").

  3. informaluncountableusuallyA position straight ahead (horizontal clock orientation) or above (vertical clock orientation) (from the location of the 12 mark on a clock face)

    We've got a bogey at twelve o'clock (= "We've got a bogey straight in front of us").

Translations

Catalan les dotze
  • les dotzestart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Chinese Mandarin 十二點鐘 /十二点钟, 十二點 /十二点
  • 十二點鐘 /十二点钟 (shí'èr diǎn zhōng)start of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
  • 十二點 /十二点 (shí'èr diǎn)start of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Finnish kaksitoista (päivällä), kello kaksitoista (päivällä)
  • kaksitoista (päivällä)start of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • kello kaksitoista (päivällä)start of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • kaksitoista (yöllä)start of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
  • kello kaksitoista (yöllä)start of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
French douze heures, douze heures
  • douze heuresstart of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • douze heuresstart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
German zwölf Uhr, zwölf Uhr
  • zwölf Uhrstart of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • zwölf Uhrstart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Greek μεσάνυχτα
  • μεσάνυχτα (mesánychta)start of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Japanese 十二時
  • 十二時 (jūni-ji)start of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Korean 열두시
  • 열두시 (yeoldusi)start of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Latin hora duodecima
  • hora duodecimastart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Polish dwunasta, dwunasta
  • dwunastastart of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • dwunastastart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Portuguese doze horas
  • doze horasstart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Scottish Gaelic dà uair dheug, dà uair dheug
  • dà uair dheugstart of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • dà uair dheugstart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Spanish las doce, las doce
  • las docestart of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • las docestart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Swedish klockan tolv, klockan tolv
  • klockan tolvstart of the thirteenth hour of the day (12 p.m.) — see also midday, noon
  • klockan tolvstart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
  • midnattstart of the first hour of the day (expressed in the 12-hour system; 12 a.m.) — see also midnight
Cite this entry
APA

twelve o'clock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twelve%20o'clock

MLA

“twelve o'clock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twelve%20o'clock. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “twelve o'clock,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twelve%20o'clock.

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