houra measurement of time: I?ll be ready in an hour.Not to be confused with:our ? belonging to us; possessive of we: We have our new home.Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embreehour (our)n.1. One of the 24 equal parts of a day.2. a. One of the points on a timepiece marking off 12 or 24 successive intervals of 60 minutes, from midnight to noon and noon to midnight or from midnight to midnight.b. The time of day indicated by a 12-hour clock.c. hours The time of day determined on a 24-hour basis: 1730 hours is 5:30 pm.3. A unit of measure of longitude or right ascension, equal to 15° or 1/24 of a great circle.4. a. A customary or fixed time: the dinner hour.b. hours A set or customary period of time for a specified activity: banking hours.5. a. A particular time: their hour of need.b. A significant time: Her hour had come.c. The present time: the man of the hour.6. a. The work that can be accomplished in an hour.b. The distance that can be traveled in an hour.7. a. A single session of a school day or class.b. A credit hour.8. hours Ecclesiastical The canonical hours.Idiom: long hours A longer than usual or customary period of time for a given activity: worked long hours to finish the project on time.[Middle English, from Old French houre, from Latin h?ra, from Greek h?r?, season, time; see y?r- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.hour (a??) n1. (Units) a period of time equal to 3600 seconds; th of a calendar day. 2. (Horology) any of the points on the face of a timepiece that indicate intervals of 60 minutes3. the hour an exact number of complete hours: the bus leaves on the hour. 4. (Horology) the time of day as indicated by a watch, clock, etc5. the period of time allowed for or used for something: the lunch hour; the hour of prayer. 6. a special moment or period: our finest hour. 7. the hour the present time: the man of the hour. 8. the distance covered in an hour: we live an hour from the city. 9. (Astronomy) astronomy an angular measurement of right ascension equal to 15° or a 24th part of the celestial equator10. one’s hour a. a time of success, fame, etcb. Also: one’s last hour the time of one’s death: his hour had come. 11. take one’s hour informal Irish to do something in a leisurely manner[C13: from Old French hore, from Latin h?ra, from Greek: season]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014hour (a??r, ?a? ?r) n. 1. a period of time equal to 1/24 of a mean solar or civil day and equivalent to 60 minutes. 2. any specific one of these 24 periods, usu. reckoned in two series of 12, one series from midnight to noon and the second from noon to midnight, but sometimes reckoned (esp. in military and non-U.S. usage) in one series of 24, from midnight to midnight: He slept for the hour between 2 and 3 a. m. The hour for the bombardment was between 1330 (1:30 p.m.) and 1400 (2:00 p.m.). 3. any specific time of day; the time indicated by a timepiece: What is the hour? 4. a short or limited period of time: one’s hour of glory. 5. a particular or appointed time: At what hour do you open? 6. a customary or usual time: dinner hour. 7. the present time: the issues of the hour. 8. hours, a. time spent at a workplace or in working, studying, etc. b. customary time of going to bed and getting up: to keep late hours. c. (in the Christian church) the seven stated times of the day for prayer and devotion. d. the offices or services prescribed for these times. e. a book containing them. 9. the distance normally covered in an hour’s traveling: We live about an hour from the city. 10. a unit of measure of right ascension representing 15°, or the 24th part of a great circle. 11. a single period, as of instruction or therapy, usu. lasting from 40 to 55 minutes. 12. credit hour. [1175?1225;