Definition of "hour" in English

noun

1. (time) A unit of time of one twenty-fourth of a day (sixty minutes).

   • Holonyms: day < week < megasecond < fortnight < month < year < gigasecond < century < kiloannum, kiloyear, millennium < terasecond < mega-annum, megayear < petasecond < giga-annum, gigayear < exasecond < zettasecond < yottasecond < ronnasecond < quettasecond
   • Meronyms: quectosecond < rontosecond < yoctosecond < zeptosecond < attosecond < femtosecond < picosecond < nanosecond < microsecond < millisecond < centisecond < decisecond < second < decasecond < minute < hectosecond < kilosecond
   • Near-synonym: microcentury (humorous approximation)
   • I spent an hour at lunch.
   • There's a bus at 20 past the hour.
   • We still have a couple hours left to do in the yard.

2. A season, moment, or time.

   • Don't come home ever again at this unearthly hour.

3. (poetic) The time.

   • The hour grows late and I must go home.

4. (military, in the plural) Used after a two-digit hour and a two-digit minute to indicate time.

5. (chiefly in the plural) The amount of labor demanded by an employer in terms of time.

   • I asked my manager for more hours.
   • The shop wasn't giving me enough hours so I started searching for a second job.

6. (Christianity, in the plural) The set times of prayer, the canonical hours, the offices or services prescribed for these, or a book containing them.

7. (chiefly US) A distance that can be traveled in one hour.

   • This place is an hour away from where I live.