o'clock

1 1.0

At the exact hour shown on a clock, for example five

adverb
/əˈklɒk/

: en punto

The train departs at six o'clock in the morning.

And that night around about one or two o'clock away and we always had combo checks.

Examples

I have some reports to get out by noon o'clock.

Mannequin (1987)
And that night around about one or two o'clock away and we always had combo checks.

Shawn Ryan Show
So every day, three o'clock, if I'm lucky, after I've exercised, I sit down.
So every day, three o'clock if I'm lucky, after I've exercised, I sit down.
Let's meet at five o'clock for dinner.
The meeting starts promptly at three o'clock.

Synonyms

top of the hour

vso'clock

24 3.0

The exact time when a new hour begins, for example 3:00

is used to state the exact hour when telling the time

sharp

vso'clock

1.0

Exactly at the stated time

indicates the hour exactly without adding emphasis on punctuality

Idioms

three o'clock sharp

1 1.4

Exactly at three o'clock

Compounds

12 o'clock

13 1.0

The time when the clock shows twelve, either noon or midnight

four o'clock

7 7.7

A garden plant with colorful, fragrant flowers that open in the late afternoon

beer o'clock

Slang

1 9.5

A time after work or at a social event when people drink beer

California four o'clock

9.1

A wildflower with purple-red flowers that open in the late afternoon

Colorado four o'clock

9.8

A wildflower with deep pink tube-shaped flowers that open in the evening

common four-o'clock

7.9

A garden plant with scented flowers that open late afternoon

desert four o'clock

9.9

A desert plant with deep pink, tube-shaped flowers that open in the evening

four-o'clock family

Specialized

9.5

A group of flowering plants like herbs, shrubs, and vines that open in the afternoon

mountain four o'clock

9.9

A leafy wildflower with light purple flowers that open in the evening and last into the next morning

sweet four o'clock

9.9

A leafy wildflower with sweet-smelling white or pale pink trumpet flowers that blooms late afternoon

trailing four o'clock

9.9

A low plant with groups of three deep pink flowers near the ground

stupid o'clock

Informal

9.9

A very early inconvenient time when you must be awake

wine o'clock

Slang

8.9

A time in the evening for relaxing and drinking wine

Surface Forms

o'clock positive

Morphology

o'clock = clock (semi-transparent) = o' + clock

Formally a contraction of 'of the clock' so the relation to 'clock' is visible, but the contracted 'o'' is not a productive or obvious prefix for learners.

Etymology

O'clock comes from an old phrase made of of and clock, short for 'of the clock' when people said the time shown by a clock. So o'clock is used to give the exact hour, as in 'five o'clock'.