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 of afternoon

• evening
• age
• autumn
• twilight

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

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon, following a morning court hearing. —ABC News, 8 Apr. 2026

Prosecutors say Horner grabbed Athena and put her in his FedEx truck later that afternoon. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026

Tuesday’s game was moved from the evening to the afternoon in anticipation of cold temperatures. —Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026

Keeping in mind the teams wrap up the series Wednesday afternoon at Fenway, the Red Sox should be extremely grateful to get out of Tuesday’s game without needing to pull Contreras off some fallen Brewer. —Steve Buckley, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

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

Rhymes for afternoon

• forenoon
• honeymoon
• laocoon
• opportune
• pantaloon
• picayune
• tablespoon
• attune
• baboon
• balloon
• bassoon
• buffoon

Kids Definition

afternoon

noun

af·​ter·​noon ˌaf-tər-ˈnün 

: the part of day between noon and sunset

afternoon adjective