witching hour
English
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
witching hour
- /ˈwɪt͡ʃɪŋ ˌaʊə/ UK
- /ˈwɪt͡ʃɪŋ ˌaʊ(ə)ɹ/ US
Where it comes from
From witching (“of or pertaining to witchcraft or sorcery, or to witches or sorcerers”, adjective) + hour. Sense 1 (“midnight”) was popularized by the reference to the “witching time of night” in the play Hamlet (written c. 1599–1602; published 1603) by William Shakespeare (1564–1616): see the quotation.
noun witching hours
- Often preceded by the: midnight, when witches and other supernatural beings were thought to be active, and to which bad luck was ascribed; also (generally), the middle of the night, when unfortunate things are thought to be more likely to occur; the dead of night. I wanted to get home before the witching hour.
- A time of day, usually in the early evening, when babies and young children are more fretful and likely to cry or fuss. Witching hour: It just might be the most challenging time of the day. That window between dinner and bedtime where kids are wound up, parents want to wind down, and it feels like the longest hour or two ever. And although the term witching hour is most commonly applied to newborns and babies, kids o
- The final hour of trading each month during which certain stock options expire, leading to a higher trading volume and greater price volatility.
- The hour between 3:00 and 3:59 a.m., associated with demons. "Do you know what three a.m. is?" […] "It's called the witching hour. It's the reverse of the holy hour—three p.m.—when Jesus died on the cross.[…]"
Translations
Every language
noun midnight, as an hour bringing bad luck — see also midnight
| Español | hora de las brujas |
|---|---|
| Français | l'heure du crime |
| Deutsch | Geisterstunde |
| Italiano | ora delle streghe, ora del diavolo |
| Русский | час ведьмовства čas vedʹmovstva |
| العربية | ساعة السحر |
Talk about this word "witching hour." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/witching%20hour. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. witching hour. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/witching%20hour "witching hour." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/witching%20hour.Cite this
@misc{witching_hour_2026,
title = {witching hour},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/witching%20hour},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
