noun
Very common
hours
OWRZ
Hours (noun) means the plural of hour: periods of sixty minutes. Example: “The flight takes eleven hours.”
noun
1
The plural of hour: periods of sixty minutes.
"The flight takes eleven hours."
"We waited three hours for a table."
"It took about six hours to drive to the coast."
2
The set times during which a business, service or person operates or works.
"Our hours are nine to five, Monday to Friday."
"She cut her hours to look after her mother."
"The library has extended its opening hours during exam season."
3
informal A long stretch of time, used loosely to stress how long something took.
"I spent hours looking for that receipt."
"We sat in traffic for hours and nobody said a word."
"She practised the piano for hours until the tune sounded right."
How to use hours
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishLengths of time of sixty minutes each, or the times something is open.
When to use it
Neutral. The looser sense meaning a very long time is informal and usually exaggerated.
Memory tip
Hour starts with a silent h, so it takes an, not a: an hour, an hour-long meeting.
Easily confused with
hrs →
o'clock
Common pairings
opening hours
business hours
office hours
working hours
for hours
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The flight takes eleven _____.
Synonyms
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Rhymes for hours
See all rhymes for hours →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.
What is the meaning of hours?
"hours" (noun) means the plural of hour: periods of sixty minutes.
