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

The supermodel attended a Tiffany & Co. store opening in Sydney, Australia last night, channeling Marie Antoinette’s over-the-top aesthetic. — Vogue, "Kendall Jenner Gives the Marie Antoinette Look a Modern Makeover," 4 Apr. 2019 Jean Baptiste LacroixGetty Images On her Instagram Stories last night, Miley Cyrus transformed her hair, Hannah Montana-style, dying it blonde and getting blunt bangs. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Miley Cyrus Dyes Her Hair Hannah Montana Blonde, and Clearly Hasn't Aged a Day," 29 Mar. 2019 Lady Gaga took to Twitter last night to set the record straight about the pregnancy rumors surrounding her. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Lady Gaga Responds to Pregnancy Rumors in the Best Way," 13 Mar. 2019 Meghan and Jessica reportedly spent an afternoon enjoying macaroons at Laduree this weekend and had dinner at the Polo Bar last night. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Meet Meghan Markle's Best Friend Jessica Mulroney," 20 Feb. 2019 Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer announced a new mobile game, simply titled Stranger Things 3: The Game, last night at The Game Awards and dropped a short trailer to tease the game. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Stranger Things 3 game will let you jump into new Hawkins madness," 7 Dec. 2018 Yet as of last night, there's been another plot twist, which came in the form of interest from another investment group—which means there's still hope for WOW Air. — Katherine Lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, "Is Wow Air—and Its $99 Flights—Going Away?," 30 Nov. 2018 Add more veggies to your pizza night with Green Giant™ Cauliflower Pizza Crust. — Woman's Day, "Introducing Green Giant™ Cauliflower Pizza Crust," 12 Mar. 2019 Research by the American Thoracic Society found that young people who slept less than five hours a night were more likely to gain weight than those who slept six or seven. — Karyn Repinski, Woman's Day, "New Research Links Belly Fat to an Increased Risk of Heart Attacks in Women," 23 Jan. 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-)