Definition of "hourglass" []

• 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. (noun)
• Shaped like an hourglass: an hourglass design; an hourglass figure. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "QUOTE TO NOTE: I know the hourglass is running out."
• "The hourglass is shaped like the number eight --- wide at the top and bottom, but very thin in the middle."
• "When the hourglass is turned with the upside down, it begins to mark the passing of another hour."