hour

Universal Words noun HELPNOTE Use an, not a, before hour. 1 [C] (abbreviation hr) 60 minutes; one of the 24 parts that a day is divided into: It will take about an hour to get there. * The interview lasted half an hour. * It was a three-hour exam. * I waited for an hour and then I left. * He'll be back in an hour. * We're paid by the hour. * The minimum wage was set at ｣3.20 an hour. * Top speed is 120 miles per hour. * York was within an hour's drive. * 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). * We hope to be there within the hour (= in less than an hour). 2 [C,usually sing.] a period of about an hour, used for a particular purpose: I use the Internet at work, during my lunch hour. seealsoHAPPYHOUR, RUSHHOUR 3 (hours) [pl.] 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. * 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. * This is the only place to get a drink after hours (= after the normal closing time for pubs). * Clients can now contact us electronically out of hours (= when the office is closed). 4 [sing.] a particular point in time: You can't turn him away at this hour of the night. 5 (hours) [pl.] a long time: It took hours getting there. * I've been waiting for hours. * 'How long did it last?' 'Oh, hours and hours.' 6 [C,usually sing.] the time when sth 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. 7 (the hour) [sing.] the time when it is exactly 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, etc: There's a bus every hour on the hour. * The clock in the living room struck the hour. 8 (hours) [pl.] 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 (= said 23 hundred) hours (= at 11 p.m.). IDIOMS all hours any time, especially a time which 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. 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. the small / early hours (also the wee small hours ScotE, AmE also 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. moreatELEVENTH, EVIL, KILLv., UNEARTHLY, UNGODLY