four-o'clock

[ fawr-uh-klok, fohr- ]

noun
  1. a common garden plant, Mirabilis jalapa, of the four-o'clock family, having tubular red, white, yellow, or variegated flowers that open late in the afternoon.

  2. any plant of the same genus.

Origin of four-o'clock

1
First recorded in 1750–60

Words Nearby four-o'clock

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for four-o'clock

four-o'clock

noun
  1. Also called: marvel-of-Peru a tropical American nyctaginaceous plant, Mirabilis jalapa, cultivated for its tubular yellow, red, or white flowers that open in late afternoon

  2. Australian another name for friarbird, esp the noisy friarbird (Philemon corniculatus): so called because of its cry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012