evening

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noun, often attributive eve·ning \ ˈēv-niŋ \

Definition of evening

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

See evening defined for English-language learners

See evening defined for kids

Examples of evening in a Sentence

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 of evening from the Web

Ice-skating lessons: The Prince William Ice Center holds lessons and hockey classes for age 4 and older Monday evenings and Saturday mornings.

— bonnie smith, Washington Post, "Prince William sports announcements," 28 Aug. 2017
During the long sunlit evenings in the summer of 1992, my cousins would lead me across the farm to the edge of the forest, each of us lugging a folding chair.

— hope jahren, New York Times, "Tasting the Sweetness of Summer, Berry by Berry," 24 Aug. 2017
The evenings of professional humor, which include dinner, have been gaining a following.

— bob kostanczuk, Post-Tribune, "Local comedian brings laughs to Munster stage," 23 Aug. 2017
Sections are offered day and evening to accommodate work schedules and family needs.

— laura groch, sandiegouniontribune.com, "North County School News, Aug. 10," 10 Aug. 2017
The ticket for the Aug. 4 evening drawing matched all five numbers — 3, 7, 10, 14 and 17.

— staff report, Daily Southtown, "Winning lottery ticket sold in Dolton," 8 Aug. 2017
Brooks said the day before the shooting, around the same time in the evening, her car was stuck in the parking lot and wouldn't start.

— thomas novelly, The Courier-Journal, "Saturday evening Walmart shooting victim identified," 7 Aug. 2017
In the evenings after a long day in court, he could be seen chatting with his followers, petting his cat, combing his hair and playing chess.

— chris dolmetsch, Bloomberg.com, "Shkreli Decries ‘Witch Hunt’ After Convicted of Securities Fraud," 4 Aug. 2017
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating a crash on Highway 45 near the Alabama and Mississippi state line that left a man critically injured on Tuesday (July 18) evening.

— prescotte stokes iii, AL.com, "Washington County deputy critically injured in a single-vehicle crash," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'evening.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of evening

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

evening Synonyms

Synonyms

afterlife, afternoon, autumn, age

Antonyms

springtime

Related Words

sunset, twilight, winter; anecdotage, dotage, senility; elderliness, golden years, oldness, seniority; adulthood, majority, maturity, middle, middle age, midlife, ripeness

Near Antonyms

adolescence, youth

evening

adjective

Definition of evening

:suitable for formal or semiformal evening social occasions

evening dress

evening clothes

Recent Examples of evening from the Web

Evening temperatures slip back through the 70s with overnight lows in the low-to-mid 60s downtown, upper 50s elsewhere.

— jason samenow, Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: A beautiful weekend, but becoming a little unsettled early next week," 26 Aug. 2017
Evening procession: The Feast closes with an procession following the 8 p.m. Mass on Aug. 15.

— laura demarco, cleveland.com, "119th Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy: Faith, family and food (vintage photos, video)," 10 Aug. 2017
Evening practice brings back high school memories for some Ducks.

— tyson alger, OregonLive.com, "Ducks say varying practices times are to prepare for season: Oregon rundown," 9 Aug. 2017
Evening entertainment runs to joining locals at the town's ever-hopping Mini Golf Club, open until someone has finally had enough.

— cnt editors, CNT, "A Guide to Covfefe, One of the World's Best Islands," 31 May 2017
Evening session tickets are $12 for general admission and $22 for reserved seating. •

— steve fryer, Orange County Register, "Fryer: With Bol cleared to play, is Mater Dei now the team to beat?," 19 Jan. 2017

First Known Use of evening

1797

EVENING Defined for English Language Learners

evening

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noun

Definition of evening for English Language Learners

: the last part of the day and early part of the night
: an event or activity that happens during an evening
: a late part of something (such as a person's life)

EVENING Defined for Kids

evening

play

noun eve·ning \ ˈēv-niŋ \

Definition of evening for Students

:the final part of the day and early part of the night

Learn More about evening

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for evening Spanish Central: Translation of evening Nglish: Translation of evening for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of evening for Arabic speakers

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Origin and Etymology of evening

evening Synonyms

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evening

Definition of evening

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EVENING Defined for English Language Learners

evening

Definition of evening for English Language Learners

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