Phrase guide

four o'clock

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The start of the fifth hour of the day; 4:00 a.m. (04:00).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Qualifier: In both the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock

Examples

  • The breakfast buffet opens at four o'clock (= "The breakfast buffet opens at 4:00 a.m.").

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The start of the seventeenth hour of the day; 4:00 p.m. (16:00).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Qualifier: Only in the 12-hour clock

Examples

  • The next train comes at four o'clock (= "The next train comes at 16:00").

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A position to the right and slightly behind (horizontal clock orientation) (from the location of the 4 mark on a clock face)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, uncountable

Examples

  • We've got a bogey at four o'clock.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Any of several plants, of the genus Mirabilis, whose funnel-shaped flowers open in late afternoon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The friarbirds (Philemon spp.); so called from its cry, which resembles these words.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

any of several plants of the genus Mirabilis having flowers that open in late afternoon

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: flower

Narrower terms: common four-o'clock, marvel-of-Peru, Mirabilis jalapa, Mirabilis uniflora, California four o'clock, Mirabilis laevis, Mirabilis californica, sweet four o'clock, maravilla, Mirabilis longiflora, desert four o'clock, Colorado four o'clock, Mirabilis multiflora, mountain four o'clock, Mirabilis oblongifolia

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: اَلسَّاعَة اَلرَّابِعَة (as-sāʕa r-rābiʕa) — the start of the fifth hour
  • Catalan: les quatre — the start of the fifth hour
  • Chinese Mandarin: 四點鐘 /四点钟 (sì diǎn zhōng) — the start of the fifth hour
  • Chinese Mandarin: 四點 /四点 (sì diǎn) — the start of the fifth hour
  • Ewe: ga ene — the start of the fifth hour
  • Finnish: neljä — the start of the fifth hour
  • Finnish: kello neljä — the start of the fifth hour
  • French: quatre heures — the start of the fifth hour
  • German: vier Uhr — the start of the fifth hour
  • Icelandic: klukkan fjögur — the start of the fifth hour
  • Indonesian: jam empat — the start of the fifth hour
  • Japanese: 四時 (yo-ji) — the start of the fifth hour
  • Korean: 네시 (nesi) — the start of the fifth hour
  • Latin: hora quarta — the start of the fifth hour
  • Navajo: dį́įʼdi azlį́į́ʼ — the start of the fifth hour
  • Ojibwe: niiwo-diba'igane — the start of the fifth hour
  • Polish: czwarta — the start of the fifth hour
  • Portuguese: quatro horas — the start of the fifth hour
  • Russian: четы́ре часа́ (četýre časá) — the start of the fifth hour
  • Spanish: las cuatro — the start of the fifth hour
  • Swedish: klockan fyra — the start of the fifth hour
  • Tagalog: alas-kuwatro — the start of the fifth hour
  • Tagalog: ikaapat — the start of the fifth hour
  • Turkish: saat dört — the start of the fifth hour
  • Vietnamese: bốn giờ — the start of the fifth hour