before the hour

idiom

used with a certain number of minutes to indicate how long before the beginning of an hour something will happen
Trains leave the station every hour at ten minutes before the hour.

Examples of before the hour in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Endrick Felipe has only started one game for Real Madrid and was hauled off before the hour mark in the away defeat to Lille, but has been promising in his substitute appearances with debut goals in La Liga and the Champions League. Sam Leveridge, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024 His number came up just before the hour mark in the Community Shield against Manchester City, too. Mark Critchley, The Athletic, 29 Aug. 2024 Just before the hour mark, Brighton’s João Pedro beat several defenders but shot straight at Areola. San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Jan. 2024 And who else was sent to the jury house before the hour was up? Rebecca Iannucci, TVLine, 26 Sep. 2024 Demiral got his second of the game when the defender powered a header home shortly before the hour mark. Ben Morse, CNN, 2 July 2024

Dictionary Entries Near before the hour

Cite this Entry

“Before the hour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/before%20the%20hour. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

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