# o'clock

Pronunciation: say "uh-KLOK" US /əˈklɑk/, UK /əˈklɒk/

## Adverb

1. Used with a number from one to twelve to state the moment when the hour hand points exactly at that number, marking the top of the hour.
   - Simple: Used after a number from one to twelve to give the exact hour of the day.
   - _The meeting was scheduled for ten o'clock, but half the team arrived early._
   - _By four o'clock the light had already begun to fade across the valley._
2. Used with a number to indicate direction relative to oneself or a vehicle, with twelve meaning directly ahead (or straight up) and three meaning to the right.
   - Simple: Used with a number to show direction, where twelve means straight ahead and three means to your right.
   - _The pilot reported another aircraft at his two o'clock, slightly below his altitude._
   - _The lookout called out a ship approaching from eleven o'clock off the bow._
3. Used to indicate that the time has arrived to do a specific thing, or for a specific thing to happen. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used to say that it is the right time to do something.
   - _She kicked off her shoes and announced that it was officially couch o'clock._
   - _Once the kids are asleep, it's wine o'clock for the exhausted parents._

## Origin

A shortened form of "of the clock," from Middle English "of the clokke," dating from the late 14th century.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/o-clock (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).