afternoon

noun

af·​ter·​noon ˌaf-tər-ˈnün 

1

: the part of day between noon and sunset

2

: a relatively late period (as of time or life)

in the afternoon of the 19th century

afternoon adjective

Synonyms

• afterlife
• age
• autumn
• evening

Examples of afternoon in a Sentence

morning, afternoon, evening, and night

I'll see you again tomorrow afternoon.

It was early afternoon when I left.

She spent the afternoon at the library.

I remember the many rainy afternoons I spent reading at the library.

She doesn't have class on Friday afternoons.

It took us all afternoon to get there.

It's going to be a long afternoon listening to lectures.

Recent Examples on the Web

Then, out of the blue, council member Martinez convened a meeting with Village Creek residents on a rainy afternoon April 20. —Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2024

Kimberly may have learned to slow down her afternoon drives, but the mother of two is as busy as ever. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2024

During the picnic, staff set up a tent for respite from the afternoon sun and served lunch and even champagne. —Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 29 Apr. 2024

According to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, showers and a chance of thunderstorms will develop in the late afternoon through early evening on Monday. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 29 Apr. 2024

But that hasn’t stopped tens of thousands of country fans from venturing here for Stagecoach, which got underway Friday afternoon and runs though Sunday night with headliners Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen. —Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024

Luna Park — with rides, roller coasters, games, an arcade, go-karts, restaurants, and food stands — is an exciting place to spend a summer afternoon. —Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 28 Apr. 2024

These service days are not necessarily circled on office-wide calendars as afternoons of matching tees and on-site photo opportunities. —James Pollard, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2024

Cleo Krejci On a Thursday afternoon in late March, a group of Milwaukee Area Technical College students reflected about a key time in life: when high school is nearly over, and questions about college are on the horizon. —Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English afternone, from after- after- + none noon

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing afternoon

• good afternoon
• make a day/night/morning/afternoon/evening of it
• the other day/night/morning/afternoon/evening
• this afternoon

Kids Definition

afternoon

noun

af·​ter·​noon ˌaf-tər-ˈnün 

: the part of day between noon and sunset

afternoon adjective