noon

noun

ˈnün 

1

: midday

specifically : 12 o'clock at midday

2

archaic : midnight

—used chiefly in the phrase noon of night

3

: the highest point

Synonyms

• high noon
• lunch time
• midday
• noonday
• noontide
• noontime

Examples of noon in a Sentence

The party will take place from noon to 4 p.m.

He showed up at precisely 12 noon.

Recent Examples on the Web

Winners will be announced April 1 at noon live on the organization's Facebook page. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 12 June 2024

High Wind Warning to go into effect beginning at noon The National Weather Service in Louisville has issued a High Wind Warning set to begin at noon on Friday for several parts of Kentucky, including Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green. —Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, The Courier-Journal, 12 June 2024

Here are a few hosting venues: Motown Legacy Lounge in the Eastern Market area will have a watch party starting at noon with $5 cocktails. —Brendel Hightower, Detroit Free Press, 11 June 2024

Details: Open Monday-Thursday at 3 p.m. and Friday-Sunday at noon at 2700 Mitchell Drive in Walnut Creek; calicraft.com. —Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 11 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English nōn ninth hour from sunrise, from Latin nona, from feminine of nonus ninth; akin to Latin novem nine — more at nine

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing noon

• high noon
• morning, noon, and night
• pre-noon

Kids Definition

noon

noun

ˈnün 

: the middle of the day : 12 o'clock in the daytime

noon adjective

Etymology

Old English nōn "ninth hour from sunrise," derived from Latin nona, a feminine form of nonus "ninth," from novem "nine"

Word Origin

Noon has not always meant "12 o'clock in the daytime." In the ancient Roman way of keeping track of time, the hours of the day were counted from sunrise to sunset. The ninth hour of their day (about 3 p.m. nowadays) was called nona, Latin for "ninth." In the early period of English, the word was borrowed as nōn, also referring to the ninth hour after sunrise. By the 14th century, however, the word came to be used for midday, 12 o'clock, as we use it today.