o'clock meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

o'clock

adv

UK /əˈklɒk/ · US /əˈklɑk/

Etymology Shortened form of "of the clock", from Middle English of the clokke [from late 14th c.].

Modifying a numeral 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.

We are expected to be there at six o'clock in the morning!
It is two o'clock.

4 more examples

What o'clock is it?
I say, Watson, what o'clock is it?1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2011:
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.1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
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.1955, Harry S Truman, chapter 1, in Memoirs of Harry S. Truman: Year of Decisions, volume I, Signet Books, published 1965, →OCLC, →OL, page 14:

Humorous, Informal Used to indicate that it is time to do a specific action, or time for a specific action to occur.

I'm feeling peckish; I think it must be nearly dinner o'clock.
We're here at Waffle House, and it's waffles o'clock!

4 more examples

Hooray! Beer o'clock!
That same evening at tea-time — (I am sorry to have to introduce you to another eating-scene, but the hours in English households are usually marked by repasts. It is a daily calendar of feasts — breakfast o’clock, dinner o’clock, &c.,[…]).1880, Henrietta A. Duff, Honor Carmichael, page 251:
“My sister requires your attendance at supper o’clock this evening — no excuse accepted.”1904, George Augustus Sala, Edmund Hodgson Yates, Temple Bar, volume 129, page 144:
“It's lunch o’clock. Wanna go out to eat?”1998, Carolyn Greene, Heavenly Husband, page 129:

With numeral 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.

It's at nine o'clock about two feet in from the edge of the branch. You need to know your "o'clocks" (nondigital) to spot birds.1989, Aileen R. Lotz, Birding around the year: when to find birds in North America:
Without moving your head, move your gaze upward to look at twelve o’clock. Now look down at six o’clock. Repeat three times, then blink several times, and rest with your eyes closed.1992, Herbert Benson with Eileen M. Stuart and Staff of the Mind/Body Medical Institute of New England Deaconess Hospital and Harvard Medical School, The Wellness book, page 86:

3 more examples

Thus, you could tell them to "look at three o'clock," or "look just off-center toward nine o'clock," and so forth. Alternatively, in some microscopes a thin black line appears to cut across the field of view1994, Peter Abramoff with Robert G. Thomson, Laboratory outlines in biology--VI, page 22:
Three o'clock and nine o'clock would be at the outer right and outer left sides of the tree, respectively, and so on. The clock technique is a very helpful way for one bird watcher to direct others to a hard-to-spot perched bird.1997, Bill Thompson, Bird watching for dummies:
At 1057 we were just over the islands and at 1100 the tail gunner reported flak at six o’clock, below.1943 November 29, “Target: Germany”, in Life, page 80:

Derived terms: 32 terms
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Related terms: sharp