hourglass
/ˈaʊəɡlɑːs/noun, verb
hourglass is spelled H-O-U-R-G-L-A-S-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hourglass means “A clock made of two glass vessels connected by a narrow passage through which sand flows” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hourglass is hourglasses.
How many letters and syllables are in hourglass?
| Letters | 9: H-O-U-R-G-L-A-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hourglass?
Hourglass appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hourglass?
- /ˈaʊəɡlɑːs/
Hourglass has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hourglass.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-hourglass.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hourglass
- hourglasses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hourglassing participle, present
- hourglassed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hourglass mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A clock made of two glass vessels connected by a narrow passage through which sand flows.
After each game turn, invert the hourglass to reset the time limit for the next player.
- 2
A cursor, often shaped like an hourglass, indicating that the computer is busy.
When I right click the desktop display to check Display Properties, it hangs and shows me only the hourglass instead of the display menu.
verb
- 1
To display the cursor as an hourglass indicating that the computer is busy or processing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hourglass in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense clock:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sablier |
| German | Sanduhr |
| Portuguese | ampulheta |
| Spanish | reloj de arena, ampolleta, reloj arenoso/arenáceo/arenisco |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hourglass come from?
From hour + glass.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).