o'clock

[ uh-klok ]

adverb

1. of, by, or according to the clock (used in specifying the hour of the day):

   It is now 4 o'clock.

2. according to a method for indicating relative position whereby a plane in space is considered to be numbered as a clock's face, with 12 o'clock considered as directly ahead in horizontal position or straight up in vertical position.

o'clock

/ əˈklɒk /

adverb

1. used after a number from one to twelve to indicate the hour of the day or night
2. used after a number to indicate direction or position relative to the observer, twelve o'clock being directly ahead or overhead and other positions being obtained by comparisons with a clock face

Word History and Origins

Origin of o'clock¹

First recorded in 1710–20; from o', a reduced form of of; o' + clock ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of o'clock¹

C18: abbreviation for of the clock

Example Sentences

It's not a gimmick or a schtick, this is a fully-fledged game of football, at Cliftonhill on Saturday at three o'clock, with all the bells and whistles and with three points on the line.

From BBC

"They'd agreed to come out at four o'clock on the Friday so I told Holly and she said 'I was supposed to be going out with my friends tonight'. She begged me," Micala recalls.

From BBC

When he presented the News at Ten, Edwards would sit on a bank of desks in the middle of the newsroom, opposite whoever was editing the Six and Ten o'clock news programmes.

From BBC

She said, ‘ring up at eight o'clock in the morning’.

From BBC

And when Sunak and Starmer face each other at nine o'clock tonight it will only be the third time a prime minister and leader of the opposition have gone head to head in this way.

From BBC