/'aʊə(r); aur/
n
1 [C] twenty-fourth part of a day and night;
60 minutes 小时
*The film starts at 7.30 and lasts two hours. 影片7点30分开演, 演两个小时.
* work a forty-hour week 每周工作四十小时
* a three hours' journey/a three-hour journey 三小时的旅程. =>App
5 见附录5.
2 (a) [C] number of hours past midnight, eg
1 o'clock,
2 o'clock, etc, as indicated by a clock, watch, etc 钟点; 点钟（如一点钟、两点钟等）
*The clock strikes the hours but not the half-hours. 这个钟是正点打点而不是半小时打点.
(b) hours [pl] (fml 文) (used when calculating time according to the 24-hour clock 用于24小时计时制)
*It's eighteen hundred hours, ie
6 pm. 现在是十八点整（下午6点）.
* It's twenty-one thirty hours, ie 9.30 pm. 现在是二十一点三十分（晚上9点30分）.
3 hours [pl] fixed period of time for work, use of facilities, etc （工作、设施等的）固定时间
*hours of business 营业时间
* Office hours are from
9 am to
5 pm. 办公时间从上午9点到下午5点.
* Doctors work long hours. 医生的工作时间很长.
4 [C usu sing 通常作单数] period of about an hour, usu set aside for a specified purpose 约一小时的时间（通常指作某用途的）
*a long lunch hour 很长的午餐时间.
5 [C] distance that can be travelled in an hour 一小时的行程
*London's only two hours away. 到伦敦只需两小时.
6 [C] point in time 某一时刻
*He came at the agreed hour. 他在约定时间来到了.
* Who can be ringing us at this late hour? 谁能在这么晚的时间给我们打电话呢?
7 [C usu sing 通常作单数] indefinite period of time 不确定的一段时间
*the country's finest hour 乡村中最好的时间
* She helped me in my hour of need. 她在我需要的时候帮助了我.
8 (idm 习语) ,after `hours after a period of regular business, etc 下班後
*Staff must stay behind after hours to catch up on their work. 下班後工作人员需要留下来把工作赶完. at/till `all hours at/till any time, however unsuitable or inconvenient 在[到]任何时候（不管多么不适宜或不方便）亦在所不惜
*She stays out till all hours, ie very late. 她在外面一直呆到很晚的时候.
* He's inclined to telephone at all hours of the day or night. 他不分白天黑夜, 想打电话就打. at the e,leventh `hour at the last possible moment; only just in time 在最後的时刻; 刚刚来得及
*The president's visit was called off at the eleventh hour. 总裁的这次访问到时取消了.
* [attrib 作定语] an e,leventh-hour de`cision 犹未为晚的决定. the early hours => early. keep late, early, regular, etc `hours go to bed or work late, early, for a normal and regular period of time, etc 作息时间较正常的或规定的时间等为晚、为早等. on the `hour at exactly
1 o'clock,
2 o'clock,
3 o'clock, etc 在某一正点
*My appointment was for
9 am and I arrived on the hour, ie at
9 am precisely. 我的约会时间定在上午9点, 我到达时9点整.
* The London bus departs every hour on the hour. 伦敦的公共汽车每小时零分开出一趟. ,out of `hours
(a) before or after one's regular work time 在工作时间之外.
(b) (esp Brit) during times when alcohol may no longer be sold in bars 在酒吧间不再售酒的时候. the small hours => small. one's waking hours => wake1.

n[C]

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1【60 minutes】
2【business/work etc】
3 (work) long/regular etc hours
4【time of day】
5【long time】
6【o'clock】
7 1300/1530/1805 etc hours
8 by the hour/from hour to hour
9 lunch/dinner hour
10【important time】
11 of the hour

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[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French;Origin: heure, from Latin hora, from Greek]
【60 MINUTES】
written abbreviationhr
a unit for measuring time. There are 60 minutes in one hour, and 24 hours in one day.
　The interview will last about two hours.
I study for an hour every night.
I'll be back in three hours .
　Three hours later he was back.
　Her bag was stolen within hours of her arrival.
You weren't interested in my story a half hour ago.
　It takes about a quarter of an hour to walk into town.
hour of
　After four hours of talks, an agreement was reached.
　The hotel is only an hour's drive from the airport.
a top speed of 120 miles an hour
　This was freelance work, paid by the hour .
　a five- hour delay
【BUSINESS/WORK ETC】
hours [plural]
a fixed period of time in the day when a particular activity, business etc happens
　hours of business 9.00-5.00
office/opening hours
　Please call during office hours.
working hours/hours of work
　the advantages of flexible working hours
visiting hours
(=the time when you can visit someone in hospital)
after hours
(=after the time when a business, especially a bar, is supposed to close)
(work) long/regular etc hours
if you work long, regular etc hours, the period that you work is longer than usual, always the same etc
　the long hours worked by hospital doctors
　Many hospital staff have to work unsocial hours (=work in the evenings so that you cannot spend time with family or friends) .
work all the hours God sends
(=work all the time that you can)
【TIME OF DAY】
a particular period or point of time during the day or night
in the early/small hours (of the morning)
(=between around midnight and two or three o'clock in the morning)
　There was a knock on the door in the early hours of the morning.
　Who can be calling at this late hour ? (=used when you are surprised or annoyed by how late at night or early in the morning something is)
daylight/daytime hours
　The park is open during daylight hours.
the hours of darkness/daylight
literary
　Few people dared to venture out during the hours of darkness.
unearthly/ungodly hour
(=used when you are complaining about how early or late something is)
　We had to get up at some ungodly hour to catch a plane.
at all hours/at any hour (of the day or night)
(=at any time)
　If you have a problem, you know you can call at any hour of the day or night.
　She's up studying till all hours (=until unreasonably late at night) .
→waking hours/life/day etcatwaking
【LONG TIME】 [usually plural]informal
a long time or a time that seems long
　We had to spend hours filling in forms.
for hours (on end)
　It'll keep the children amused for hours on end.
　a really boring lecture that went on for hours and hours
　She lay awake for hour after hour (=for many hours, continuously) .
【O'CLOCK】
the time of the day when a new hour starts, for example one o'clock, two o'clock etc
strike/chime the hour
(=if a clock strikes the hour, it rings, to show that it is one o'clock, seven o'clock etc)
(every hour) on the hour
(=every hour at six o'clock, seven o'clock etc)
　There are flights to Boston every hour on the hour.
10/20 etc minutes before/after the hour
AmE (=used on national radio or television in order to give the time without saying which hour it is, because the broadcast may be coming from a different time zone)
　It's twelve minutes before the hour, and you're listening to the Morning Edition on NPR.
1300/1530/1805 etc hours
used to give the time in official or military reports and orders
　The helicopters lifted off at 0600 hours.
by the hour/from hour to hour
if a situation is changing by the hour or from hour to hour, it is changing very quickly and very often
　This financial crisis is growing more serious by the hour.
lunch/dinner hour
the period in the middle of the day when people stop work for a meal
　I usually do the crossword in my lunch hour.
【IMPORTANT TIME】 [usually singular]
an important moment or period in history or in your life
sb's finest/greatest/darkest hour
　This was our country's finest hour.
sb's hour of need/glory etc
(=a time when someone needs help, is very successful etc)
　Don't desert me in my hour of need.
of the hour
important at a particular time, especially the present time
　one of the burning questions of the hour
the hero/man of the hour
(=someone who does something very brave, is very successful etc at a particular time)
→the eleventh hourateleventh¹ (2), hourly, happy hour, rush hour, zero hour

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COLLOCATES for sense 1
for an hour/two hours/three hours etc
in an hour/in an hour's time (=when an hour has passed)
an hour/two hours etc later
an hour/two hours etc ago/earlier
within hours (of something) (=only a few hours after something)
half an houralso a half hourAmerican English
(a) quarter of an hour
three quarters of an hour
an hour's work (=work that it took you an hour to do)
an hour's walk/drive
miles/kilometres per hour (=used in speeds)
£10/$5.50 etc an hour (=used to say how much someone is paid or how much you pay to use something)
pay/charge by the hour (=pay or charge someone according to the number of hours it takes to do something)

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