hours

IPA/ˈaʊəz/
KK[ˈaʊɚz]IPA/ˈaʊərz/

hours — noun

1. units of time, each lasting sixty minutes, used to count how long something take

1.nounA1
Definition

units of time, each lasting sixty minutes, used to count how long something takes or lasts.

Example

Ezra waited three hours at the airport before his flight to Madrid took off.

[number] + hours for measuring duration

The drive from Taipei to Kaohsiung takes about four hours by high-speed rail.

duration of a journey

Common collocations
  • a few hours
  • several hours
  • for hours
  • in just a few hours
Synonyms
  • time

    broader; less precise about the unit of measurement

Grammar Patterns

number + hours

for + [number] hours

Usage Note

Always plural after numbers greater than one. With 'one' use the singular form 'hour'.

Common Mistakes

I waited three hour.
I waited three hours.
'hour' must be plural after any number except 'one'.

2. the set period each day when a shop, office, or service is open to the public, o

2.nounA2
Definition

the set period each day when a shop, office, or service is open to the public, or when a regular activity takes place.

Example

The library extends its opening hours to ten o'clock during exam week.

collocation: opening hours

Please check the bank's business hours on the front door before walking in.

collocation: business hours

Common collocations
  • opening hours
  • business hours
  • office hours
  • visiting hours
  • after hours
Synonyms
  • schedule

    broader; can mean any planned sequence of events

  • times

    more general; less tied to a regular daily window

Grammar Patterns

opening / business / office hours

during [X] hours

Usage Note

Almost always appears with a defining adjective or noun in front: opening, business, office, visiting, school. Distinguish from sense 4 (the personal schedule of one worker) — sense 2 is about an organization's public schedule.

Common Mistakes

The shop hours is from nine.
The shop's hours are from nine.
'hours' is plural, so the verb must be 'are'.

3. the moments or part of a day or night when something happens, often described as

3.nounB1
Definition

the moments or part of a day or night when something happens, often described as early, late, or quiet.

Example

Christopher does his best writing in the early hours of the morning before sunrise.

the early hours of the morning

Asher kept calling his mother during the late hours of the night, worried about the storm.

the late hours of the night

Common collocations
  • the early hours
  • the small hours
  • the late hours
  • the quiet hours
  • off-peak hours
Synonyms
  • time

    broader; can name any point or stretch in the day

  • moments

    shorter than 'hours'; suggests brief points in time

Grammar Patterns

the early / late / small hours of [period]

Usage Note

Subject is usually a stretch of time within the day or night, not a single moment. Distinguish from sense 1 (counting units of time): sense 3 names a part of the day, not a length.

4. the amount or pattern of time a person spends doing their paid job each day or w

4.nounB1
Definition

the amount or pattern of time a person spends doing their paid job each day or week.

Example

Kemi works long hours at the law firm, often leaving the office after midnight.

work long hours: typical collocation

Caio has flexible hours and can pick his daughter up from school in the afternoon.

flexible hours: chosen daily schedule

Common collocations
  • long hours
  • flexible hours
  • unsocial hours
  • shorter hours
  • hours a week
Synonyms
  • shift

    a single block of work time; 'hours' covers the overall pattern

Grammar Patterns

work + [adjective] hours

[number] hours a week

Usage Note

Subject is typically a single worker (a person). Distinguish from sense 2 (the public schedule of a shop or service): sense 4 describes one person's own working pattern.

Common Mistakes

I do long hour at the office.
I do long hours at the office.
must be plural when describing a work pattern.

5. a long stretch of time that feels much longer than it really is, used to stress

5.nounA2
Definition

a long stretch of time that feels much longer than it really is, used to stress how slow or tiring something feels.

Example

Adina searched for her car keys for hours before finding them inside her coat pocket.

for hours: exaggerated long search

Léa spent hours cleaning the kitchen after the dinner party on Saturday.

spend hours + V-ing

Common collocations
  • for hours
  • spend hours
  • hours on end
  • hours and hours
Synonyms
  • ages

    informal; same hyperbolic feeling but more conversational in British English

  • forever

    stronger exaggeration; suggests endless waiting

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

for hours

spend hours + V-ing

Usage Note

Mostly informal hyperbole — speakers rarely mean an exact count of hours. Distinguish from sense 1 (precise duration): sense 5 emphasises feeling, not measurement.

6. any time of day or night, with no set pattern, often used when something happens

6.nounB2
Definition

any time of day or night, with no set pattern, often used when something happens too often or at awkward moments.

Example

Mathieu's neighbours play loud music at all hours, which keeps the baby awake.

at all hours: any time, day or night

The hospital's emergency line is answered at all hours by trained nurses.

round-the-clock availability

Common collocations
  • at all hours
  • at all hours of the day
  • at all hours of the night
Synonyms
  • round the clock

    stresses continuous activity; often positive (services that never stop)

Grammar Patterns

at all hours

round / around the clock hours

Usage Note

Almost always appears in the fixed phrase 'at all hours' (sometimes 'at all hours of the day/night'). Carries a mild complaint or surprise about timing.

Common Mistakes

She calls at all the hours.
She calls at all hours.
no 'the' before 'all hours' in this fixed phrase.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to stretches of time, but they sit at different scales. 'Hours' names a precise unit of sixty minutes and is the default count for activities longer than an hour — a film, a flight, a working shift. 'Minutes' covers shorter spans of one to sixty units, used for tasks like boiling rice or making a phone call. 'Moments' is vaguer and shorter still — a quick smile, a brief pause — and rarely takes a number. 'Time' is the broadest of the four: it can replace any of the others but loses precision, so you say 'the time it took' rather than 'the hours it took' when the exact length does not matter. For example, 'She spent two hours on the report' is precise; 'She spent some time on the report' leaves the length open.

hours ↗minutes ↗moments ↗time ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • hours of work
  • hours of sleep
  • hours of practice
  • hours of daylight
  • hours of operation

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

  • for hours
  • in [a number of] hours
  • within hours
  • during the hours of
  • after hours

Etymology

GreekLatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

The singular 'hour' came into English in the 1200s from Old French 'hore' or 'ore', meaning a fixed point of time, which itself came from Latin 'hora' (a time, season) and ultimately from Greek 'hōra', meaning a season or a marked time of day. 'Hours' is simply the plural form, used both for counting sixty-minute units and, in fixed phrases, for stretches of the day. The Greek root also survives in words like 'horoscope'.