Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An instrument for measuring time, consisting of two glass chambers connected by a narrow neck and containing a quantity of sand, mercury, or another flowing substance that trickles from the upper chamber to the lower in a fixed amount of time, often one hour.
- adjective Shaped like an hourglass.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An instrument for measuring time, consisting of a glass vessel constricted to a narrow passage in the middle, through which a quantity of sand, or sometimes of mercury, runs from the upper part into the lower in exactly an hour.
- noun The time measured by an hour-glass; an hour.
- Having the form of an hour-glass.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An instrument for measuring time, especially the interval of an hour. It consists of a glass vessel having two compartments, from the uppermost of which a quantity of sand, water, or mercury occupies an hour in running through a small aperture unto the lower.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
clock made of twoglass vessels connected with a narrow passage, with sand flowing through that passage.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a sandglass that runs for sixty minutes
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When the hourglass is turned with the upside down, it begins to mark the passing of another hour.
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QUOTE TO NOTE: I know the hourglass is running out.
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The hourglass is shaped like the number eight --- wide at the top and bottom, but very thin in the middle.
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QUOTE TO NOTE: I know the hourglass is running out.
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A second hourglass is found beside the lectern in the miniature studiolo, a particularly jocund play of temporal and spatial layering.
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008
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If the Pistons find a way to sink the Lakers, the main reason will be that tough little customer wearing the glasses, a man whose coaching hourglass is nearly empty.
USATODAY.com - Pistons' Brown hopes moves on and off court pay off 2004
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“Now,” he continued with admiring eyes, “that is what you call an hourglass figure.
Flowers in the Attic V.C. Andrews 1979
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“Now,” he continued with admiring eyes, “that is what you call an hourglass figure.
Flowers in the Attic V.C. Andrews 1979
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The hourglass should be the "butternut squash" and the upside down triangle should be the Crystal Carrington because there are no top heavy fruits!
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-- A warning against delay in arrangements or thought-of plans; with other signs, the hourglass is a grave warning of peril through illness or accident.
Telling Fortunes By Tea Leaves Cicely Kent
bilby commented on the word hourglass
Like shopping carts through the aisles, these are the Days of our Lives.
April 8, 2008