hour

noun

a period of time equal to one twenty-fourth of a mean solar or civil day and equivalent to 60 minutes: He slept for an hour.

any specific one of these 24 periods, usually reckoned in two series of 12, one series from midnight to noon and the second from noon to midnight, but sometimes reckoned in one series of 24, from midnight to midnight: He slept for the hour between 2 and 3 a.m. The hour for the bombardment was between 1300 and 1400.

any specific time of day; the time indicated by a timepiece: What is the hour?

a short or limited period of time: He savored his hour of glory.

a particular or appointed time: What was the hour of death? At what hour do you open?

a customary or usual time: When is your dinner hour?

the present time: the man of the hour.

hours.

time spent in an office, factory, or the like, or for work, study, etc.: The doctor's hours were from 10 to 4. What an employee does after hours is his or her own business.

customary time of going to bed and getting up: to keep late hours.

(in the Christian church) the seven stated times of the day for prayer and devotion.

the offices or services prescribed for these times.

a book containing them.

distance normally covered in an hour's traveling: We live about an hour from the city.

10.

Astronomy. a unit of measure of right ascension representing 15°, or the twenty-fourth part of a great circle.

11.

a single period, as of class instruction or therapeutic consultation, usually lasting from 40 to 55 minutes. Compare clock-hour.

12.

Education. Also called credit hour. one unit of academic credit, usually representing attendance at one scheduled period of instruction per week throughout a semester, quarter, or term.

13.

the Hours, Classical Mythology. the Horae.

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adjective

14.

of, pertaining to, or noting an hour.

00:10

Hour is always a great word to know.

So is meteor. Does it mean:

determined by or pertaining to the stars

a transient fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth's atmosphere also called a shooting star or bolide

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Idioms

15.

one's hour,

Also, one's last hour. the instant of death: The sick man knew that his hour had come.

any crucial moment.

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English (h)oure < Anglo-French; Old French (h)ore < Latin hōra < Greek hṓrā time, season

Related forms

hour·less, adjective

Can be confused: are, hour, our.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To Hour

Collins

World English Dictionary

hour (aʊə)

—n
1.	a period of time equal to 3600 seconds; 1/24th of a calendar dayRelated: horal, horary
2.	any of the points on the face of a timepiece that indicate intervals of 60 minutes
3.	the hour an exact number of complete hours: the bus leaves on the hour
4.	the time of day as indicated by a watch, clock, etc
5.	the period of time allowed for or used for something: the lunch hour; the hour of prayer
6.	a special moment or period: our finest hour
7.	the hour the present time: the man of the hour
8.	the distance covered in an hour: we live an hour from the city
9.	astronomy an angular measurement of right ascension equal to 15° or a 24th part of the celestial equator
10.	one's hour
	a. a time of success, fame, etc
	b. Also: one's last hour the time of one's death: his hour had come
11.	informal (Irish) take one's hour to do something in a leisurely manner

Related: horal, horary

[C13: from Old French hore, from Latin hōra, from Greek: season]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

hour

mid-13c., from O.Fr. hore "one-twelfth of a day" (sunrise to sunset), from L. hora "hour, time, season," from Gk. hora "any limited time," from PIE *yor-a-, from base *yer- "year, season" (see year). Greek hora was "a season; 'the season;'" in classical times, sometimes, "a

part of the day," such as morning, evening, noon, night. The Greek astronomers borrowed the notion of dividing the day into sections from the Babylonians. The Gk. division of the daytime into 12 equal hours was generally introduced by Hipparchus c.150 B.C.E. (night continued to be divided into four watches), but as the amount of daylight changed throughout the year, the hours were not fixed or of equal length. Equinoctal hours did not become established in Europe until the 4c., and as late as 16c. distinction sometimes was made between temporary (unequal) hours and sidereal (equal) ones. The h- has persisted in this word despite not being pronounced since Roman times. Replaced O.E. tid, lit. "time," and stund "period of time."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

hour

(our) Pronunciation Key

A unit of time equal to one of the 24 equal parts of a day; 60 minutes. ◇ A sidereal hour is ¹/₂₄ of a sidereal day, and a mean solar hour is ¹/₂₄ of a mean solar day. See more at sidereal time , solar time.
A unit of measure of longitude or right ascension, equal to 15° or ¹/₂₄ of a great circle.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Easton

Bible Dictionary

Hour definition

First found in Dan. 3:6; 4:19, 33;5:5. It is the rendering of the Chaldee shaah, meaning a "moment," a "look." It is used in the New Testament frequently to denote some determinate season (Matt. 8:13; Luke 12:39). With the ancient Hebrews the divisions of the day were "morning, evening, and noon-day" (Ps. 55:17, etc.). The Greeks, following the Babylonians, divided the day into twelve hours. The Jews, during the Captivity, learned also from the Babylonians this method of dividing time. When Judea became subject to the Romans, the Jews adopted the Roman mode of reckoning time. The night was divided into four watches (Luke 12:38; Matt. 14:25; 13:25). Frequent allusion is also made to hours (Matt. 25:13; 26:40, etc.). (See DAY.) An hour was the twelfth part of the day, reckoning from sunrise to sunset, and consequently it perpetually varied in length.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

hour

see after hours; all hours; by the day (hour); eleventh hour; happy hour; keep late hours; on the hour; small hours.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

hour

in timekeeping, 3,600 seconds, now defined in terms of radiation emitted from atoms of the element cesium under specified conditions. The hour was formerly defined as the 24th part of a mean solar day-i.e., of the average period of rotation of the Earth relative to the Sun. The hour of sidereal time, 124 of the Earth's rotation period relative to the stars, was about 10 seconds shorter than the hour of mean solar time.

Learn more about hour with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

Around midday, the cooling mode kicks in, and the device shuts off the

building's regular air conditioner for a six-hour cycle.

Tickets are required and are distributed one half-hour prior to each

performance.

At the twenty-four-hour point the data obtained seemed sufficient, and the

engineers intended to shut down the plant.

In less than an hour you can turn ripe peaches and raspberries into this quick,

small-batch jam.