o'clock
/əˈklɑk/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.04 in modern English
Meaning
adv
In conjunction with a numeral, indicates the time within a twelve-hour period (midnight to noon or noon to midnight), specifically the time when the hour hand of a clock points precisely to the symbol or marking corresponding to the designated numeral, i.e., at the hour.
adv
Used to indicate that it is time to do a specific action, or time for a specific action to occur.
Humorous; Informal
adv
In conjunction with a numeral, indicates the direction, relative to the speaker or a vehicle, especially an aircraft, corresponding to the direction the hour hand is pointing at the time corresponding to the numeral, with twelve representing directly ahead on a horizontal plane, or directly up on a vertical plane, and three being to the right on either.
Example Sentences
- "We are expected to be there at six o'clock in the morning!"
- "It is two o'clock."
- "What o'clock is it?"
- "I say, Watson, what o'clock is it?"
- "By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country."
- "Shortly before five o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, April 12, 1945, after the Senate adjourned, I went to the office of House Speaker Sam Rayburn. I went there to get an agreement between the Speaker and the Vice-President on certain legislation and to discuss the domestic and world situation generally. As I entered, the Speaker told me that Steve Early, the President's press secretary, had just telephoned, requesting me to call the White House."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: of the clokke
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈklɑk/
- British English: /əˈklɒk/