o'clock

[ uh-klok ]

adverb
  1. of, by, or according to the clock (used in specifying the hour of the day): It is now 4 o'clock.

  2. according to a method for indicating relative position whereby a plane in space is considered to be numbered as a clock's face, with 12 o'clock considered as directly ahead in horizontal position or straight up in vertical position.

Origin of o'clock

1
First recorded in 1710–20; from o', a reduced form of of;see o' + clock1

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

How to use o'clock in a sentence

  • It was close upon twelve o'clock, and the "Rooms" had been open to the public for two hours.

  • At six o'clock I felt once more the welcome motion of a Railroad car, and at eight was in Venice.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
  • It was now about eight o'clock at night, and the captain ordered supper immediately, thinking I had already fasted too long.

    Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan Swift
  • Seven o'clock was the hour fixed for the marriage: it would be twilight then, and dinner over.

    Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
  • Her hope persisted until half-past nine: it then began to fade, and, at ten o'clock, was extinct.

    Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for o'clock

o'clock

/ (əˈklɒk) /


adverb
  1. used after a number from one to twelve to indicate the hour of the day or night

  2. used after a number to indicate direction or position relative to the observer, twelve o'clock being directly ahead or overhead and other positions being obtained by comparisons with a clock face

Origin of o'clock

1
C18: abbreviation for of the clock

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