all hours

Idioms

Irregular times, as in You can't come home at all hours and expect your supper to be ready. The expression can also mean “late at night,” as in College students like to stay up talking until all hours. It is sometimes amplified into all hours of the day and night. [c. 1930]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If Evy is virtually alone in a house where strange noises are occurring at all hours, what would possess her to put on noise-canceling headphones, other than a death wish?

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

They are active at all hours and can be bolder than usual.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

Even after he rose to the heights of the legal and financial world, the ultra-solicitous Karp was still known to respond to client emails and calls at all hours.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

At the site where he was killed in south Minneapolis, close to the Calvary Baptist Church, mourners gathered at all hours to lay flowers and light candles in his honour.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026

The Parsons children played it at all hours of the night and day, unbearably, on a comb and a piece of toilet paper.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023