evening

1 of 2

noun

eve·​ning ˈēv-niŋ How to pronounce evening (audio)
often attributive
1
a
: the latter part and close of the day and early part of the night
b
chiefly Southern US and Midland US : afternoon
c
: the period from sunset or the evening meal to bedtime
2
: the latter portion
3
: the period of an evening's entertainment

evening

2 of 2

adjective

: suitable for formal or semiformal evening social occasions
evening dress
evening clothes

Examples of evening in a Sentence

Noun We're going out to dinner this evening. He devotes his evenings to charity work. They left on the evening of July 26. We're looking forward to an evening at the theater. several fun-filled evenings of poker He met her in the evening of his life.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Using 14 low-cost cameras, the researchers were able to track satellites passing overhead on the evening of Feb. 22, 2025, compiling them into a long-exposure image to show the total activity for the evening. Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 20 June 2025 Related Stories How To Keep Carpenter Bees Away From Your Home How To Get Rid Of Crickets In The House How To Get Rid Of A Wasp Nest For nests that must be eliminated, wait until evening to treat because too many workers are out foraging during the day, says Raupp. Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 20 June 2025
Adjective
Perhaps the football gods are just evening things out. Jeff Fedotin, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024 The best times are evening or early morning, when the wasps aren’t active. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 See All Example Sentences for evening

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English ǣfnung, from ǣfnian to grow toward evening, from ǣfen evening; akin to Old High German āband evening and perhaps to Greek epi on

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1782, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of evening was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Evening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evening. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

evening

noun
eve·​ning
ˈēv-niŋ
1
: the final part of the day and early part of the night
2
: a late part
the evening of life

More from Merriam-Webster on evening

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