after-hours
/ˌɑːftər ˈaʊəz/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌæftər ˈaʊərz/ (ame, ipa)
after-hours — 慣用語
1. After the normal working day has finished — for example, staying late at the off
下班後
正常上班時間結束之後
After the normal working day has finished — for example, staying late at the office to complete a report, or meeting colleagues for a drink once everyone has clocked out.
Amara often stayed after hours to finish the monthly budget report before the Monday deadline.
Amara 經常下班後留下來，趕在週一截止前完成每月的預算報告。
stay after hours (remain at work past the usual time)
Ingrid and her team worked after hours on Thursday to rebuild the database before the morning shift arrived.
Ingrid 和她的團隊週四下班後留下來重建資料庫，以免早班人員來時一團混亂。
work after hours
Dimitri came back after hours to get his passport from his desk for an early flight the next morning.
Dimitri 下班後回來拿他忘在桌上的護照，隔天一早的班機需要用到。
After hours, the cleaners wheeled their trolleys through the silent office, emptying bins and polishing every desk before sunrise.
下班後，清潔人員推著推車穿過寂靜的辦公室，在日出前倒空垃圾桶、擦拭每一張桌子。
Hana and her colleagues met at a pub after hours to celebrate finishing the big project.
Hana 和同事下班後約在一家酒吧見面，慶祝完成那個大案子。
- overtime
specifically means working extra hours beyond the normal schedule, and usually implies additional pay; 'after hours' does not carry the idea of extra wages
- late
a broader term — you can stay late at a party, at school, or at the office; 'after hours' is more specific to the official working day ending
文法句型
verb + after hours
after hours + comma + main clause
常見錯誤
2. Drinking alcohol in a bar, pub, or club after the time when the law says alcohol
非法飲酒
在酒吧法定營業時間過後繼續喝酒
Drinking alcohol in a bar, pub, or club after the time when the law says alcohol must stop being served — in other words, carrying on drinking once the place should have closed.
Police caught a dozen customers drinking after hours at The Queen's Head and fined the owner eight hundred pounds.
警察在 The Queen's Head 抓到十幾個顧客打烊後繼續飲酒，並對老闆開罰八百英鎊。
drink after hours (illegal drinking past closing time)
Kwame found a pub on the edge of town that served drinks after hours if you came through the back door.
Kwame 在城鎮邊緣找到一家酒吧，如果你從後門進來，打烊後還是會供應酒。
serve drinks after hours
A pub on the High Street lost its licence after neighbours filmed drinking after hours on three weekends running.
High Street 上一家酒吧被吊銷執照，因為鄰居連續三個週末拍到打烊後繼續飲酒的畫面。
The club lost its licence after inspectors caught a large group drinking after hours at three in the morning.
那家夜店被吊銷執照，因為稽查員在凌晨三點發現一大群人在打烊後繼續飲酒。
- lock-in
British informal noun for an event where a pub keeps serving drinks illegally after closing; 'after hours' is the adverbial phrase describing the timing, while 'lock-in' names the whole event
文法句型
drink after hours
serve (drinks) after hours
stay open after hours
用法筆記
This sense is almost always about drinking alcohol illegally in bars and clubs — not about other kinds of after-hours illegal activity such as gambling or selling goods.
after-hours — 形容詞
1. Describing an activity, event, or service that takes place after a business or o
營業時間外的
店家或機構打烊後才進行的活動或服務
Describing an activity, event, or service that takes place after a business or organisation has officially closed for the day — for example, an after-hours phone line that operates late into the night, or an after-hours club that opens when everything else has shut.
Fatima received an after-hours call from a client who needed urgent help with the company website.
Fatima 接到一通營業時間外的客戶來電，對方急需幫忙處理公司網站。
after-hours call (phone call received outside normal business hours)
The pharmacy on King Street had an after-hours window for collecting prescriptions until midnight.
King Street 的藥局有一個營業時間外的領藥窗口，開放到午夜。
after-hours window (a service point open when the main shop is closed)
Javier joined an after-hours chess club that met in the public library every Friday night.
Javier 加入了一個營業時間外的西洋棋社團，每週五晚上在公共圖書館聚會。
The after-hours party at the downtown gallery drew art students and musicians who stayed dancing until nearly dawn.
市中心畫廊的營業時間外派對吸引了美術系學生和音樂人，他們跳舞跳到快要天亮。
The gym gave after-hours access to nurses on the night ward, who could only work out after their late shift.
健身房為夜班病房的護理師提供營業時間外的使用權限，他們只有晚班結束後才能來運動。
- late-night
also describes something happening late, but does not imply that a business is officially closed — a 'late-night café' might simply stay open late, whereas an 'after-hours club' implies it operates once normal businesses have shut
- out-of-hours
common in British English for services like doctors or helplines; 'after-hours' is more widely understood and used for a broader range of contexts
文法句型
after-hours + noun (party, club, call, access, service)
用法筆記
This adjective is almost always used directly before a noun (attributive position). You would say 'an after-hours club' but not 'the club is after-hours.'
常見錯誤
after-hours — 片語
1. After the time when a shop, restaurant, school, or other establishment has shut
關門後
商店或場所打烊之後的時間
After the time when a shop, restaurant, school, or other establishment has shut its doors to the public for the day — for example, cleaners coming in once the store is closed, or a security guard patrolling an empty building at night.
The cleaners arrived after hours once the last customer had left and the shutters had been pulled down.
清潔人員在關門後到達，那時最後一位顧客已離開，鐵捲門也已經拉下。
arrive after hours (come after the establishment has closed)
After hours, Suki walked through the empty shopping centre with a security guard to collect her forgotten bag.
關門後，Suki 在警衛陪同下穿過空無一人的購物中心，去拿她忘記帶走的包包。
walk through + place + after hours (moving through a closed venue)
The restaurant staff shared a meal after hours, sitting together with plates of food in the empty dining room.
餐廳員工在關門後一起吃飯，在空蕩蕩的用餐區圍坐著分享菜餚。
You can only enter the building after hours with a special key card and a signed note at the security desk.
關門後你必須持有特殊門禁卡並在警衛桌簽到，才能進入這棟大樓。
Oluwaseun stayed in the school library after hours to finish her history essay before the deadline.
Oluwaseun 關門後留在學校圖書館，趕在截止前完成她的歷史論文。
- after closing
a more direct way to say the same thing; 'after closing' emphasises the moment the doors shut, while 'after hours' emphasises the stretch of time once the place is closed
文法句型
arrive after hours
enter after hours
walk through + place + after hours
用法筆記
Distinguish this from the idiom sense AFTER WORK HOURS (idiom/1), which focuses on the working day of employees. PAST CLOSING TIME is about the establishment itself being shut — cleaners, security staff, or visitors moving through a closed space, not employees staying late at their desks.