midnight

noun

mid·​night ˈmid-ˌnīt 

1

: the middle of the night

specifically : 12 o'clock at night

2

: deep or extended darkness or gloom

midnight adjective

midnightly adverb or adjective

Examples of midnight in a Sentence

Her parents wanted her home before midnight.

It was 12 midnight when we arrived home.

Recent Examples on the Web

A little after midnight on Saturday, Cole Chaney took the stage at the Great Northern Bar & Grill in downtown Whitefish to mix alt-country and folk with Nineties hard rock. — Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2026

Ring walks for the main event are expected around midnight ET. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

Hours later, surveillance cameras captured Fischer returning a rental car to an Enterprise location in Boston shortly after midnight before walking away carrying two travel bags over his shoulder. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026

At the Yankee Stadium shows, the band was right in the pocket for all three nights, including the concluding concert that started past midnight and stretched until almost three in the morning. — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 20 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing midnight

• burn the midnight oil
• midnight blue
• midnight sun
• the midnight hour

Rhymes for midnight

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

Kids Definition

midnight

noun

mid·​night ˈmid-ˌnīt 

: 12 o'clock at night

midnight adjective