night

noun

\ ˈnīt

Definition of night

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the time from dusk to dawn when no sunlight is visible The store is open all night.

2a : an evening or night taken as an occasion or point of time the opening night

b : an evening set aside for a particular purpose Thursdays is game night in our house.

3a : the quality or state of being dark approached the enemy's camp under cover of night

b : a condition or period felt to resemble the darkness of night: such as

(1) : a period of dreary inactivity or affliction the glories of Roman civilization were lost in a gloomy night of ignorance, superstition, and barbarism— R. A. Hall

(2) : absence of moral values … that night which has for many centuries obscured our holy religion …— Joseph Priestley

c : the beginning of darkness : nightfall worked in the fields until night

night

adjective

Definition of night (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : of, relating to, or associated with the night night air

2 : intended for use at night a night lamp

3a : existing, occurring, or functioning at night night baseball a night nurse

b : active or functioning best at night night people

Other Words from night Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about night

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Synonyms & Antonyms for night

Synonyms: Noun

dark, darkness, nighttime

Synonyms: Adjective

nightly, nighttime, nocturnal

Antonyms: Noun

day, daytime

Antonyms: Adjective

daily, diurnal

Examples of night in a Sentence

Noun

Who are you calling at this time of night? It's eleven o'clock at night. She and her husband both work at night and sleep during the day. The store's open all night. They were up all night long playing video games. Let's stop for the night and get a hotel. a cold, rainy night in the city I stayed up late five nights in a row. Last night, I had the strangest dream. Spend six nights and seven days on a tropical island in the Caribbean!

Adjective

He is taking a night flight. a night manager at the supermarket This is the last night bus.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Morgan corrected that in the 12th minute, putting away her first of the night. — Thom Craver, CBS News, "U.S. breaks records in opening Women's World Cup game, dominates Thailand 13-0," 12 June 2019 For a seven-day stay, a standard room with two queen beds runs $73 a night while a two-bedroom suite is $111. — Gabrielle Russon, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Universal’s newest hotel costs less than $100 a night," 12 June 2019 Chun later met them in the middle of the night on the side of a road. — Julie Zaugg, CNN, "These North Korean defectors were sold into China as cybersex slaves. Then they escaped," 9 June 2019 But before the ceremony even began, top Broadway stars—some of them coming straight from Hollywood!—descended upon the red carpet in ensembles worthy of the night’s glitzy aesthetic. — Vogue, "Tony Awards 2019 Red Carpet Live: All the Celebrity Dresses and Fashion," 9 June 2019 The biggest shock of the night came courtesy of Ukraine, who stormed to a 5-0 victory over Serbia. — SI.com, "International Roundup: Spain Thump Faroe Islands as Republic of Ireland Grab Late Equaliser," 7 June 2019 The first portion of the night is mostly NREM deep sleep and the last portion consists of mostly REM sleep. — Steven Bender, Quartz, "Hitting the snooze button is bad for your health," 7 June 2019 The first portion of the night is mostly NREM deep sleep and the last portion consists of mostly REM sleep. — Steven Bender, Houston Chronicle, "Does hitting the snooze button really help you feel better?," 6 June 2019 Randomly talking in the middle of the night can be pretty jarring for anyone who overhears you, but sleep talking itself isn’t a major reason to worry. — Cassie Shortsleeve, SELF, "9 Types of Parasomnias That Might Explain That Weird Thing You Do When You Sleep," 5 June 2019

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

History and Etymology for night

Noun

Middle English night, niht, going back to Old English nieht, niht, umlauted form of neaht, næht, going back to Germanic *naht- (whence Old Saxon & Old High German naht "night," Old Norse nótt, nátt, Gothic nahts), going back to Indo-European *nok^w-t-, whence Old Irish innocht "tonight," Welsh peunoeth "every night" (Welsh nos "night" perhaps going back to *nok^wt-stu-), Latin noct-, nox "night," Old Church Slavic noštĭ, Lithuanian naktìs, Greek nykt-, nýx, Sanskrit nakt-, nak, Hittite nekuz "in the evening" (from an oblique case stem *nek^wt-)