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
Noun
The evening included a red carpet and cocktail reception, followed by a gala dinner that honored both emerging and established designers across various categories. Ty Gaskins, WWD, 29 Oct. 2024 Had guests over for a dinner party and a sink full of dishes at the end of the evening? Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
The best times are evening or early morning, when the wasps aren’t active. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 During his flight, Trump complained on Twitter that the cable networks were not carrying the roll call (the networks also did not air pre-evening events for the Democratic convention). John Fritze, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2020 See all Example Sentences for evening 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'evening.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near evening

Cite this Entry

“Evening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evening. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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