hours
3 synonyms and 0 antonyms for hours, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The plural of hour: periods of sixty minutes.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use hours
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Neutral. The looser sense meaning a very long time is informal and usually exaggerated.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between hours and hrs?
They mean exactly the same thing; hrs is simply the written abbreviation, used on timetables, forms and labels. Write hours out in full in ordinary prose.
Is it 24 hours or 24 hour?
Use hours as a plural noun after a number: it lasted 24 hours. Use the singular before a noun it modifies, with a hyphen: a 24-hour helpline, a two-hour delay.
What are business hours?
The period when a company is open and staffed, typically around nine to five on weekdays in most of the English-speaking world. Outside business hours means evenings, weekends and public holidays.