noon

noun

ˈnün 

1

: midday

specifically : 12 o'clock at midday

2

archaic : midnight

—used chiefly in the phrase noon of night

3

: the highest point

Synonyms of noon

• midday

Examples of noon in a Sentence

The party will take place from noon to 4 p.m.

He showed up at precisely 12 noon.

Recent Examples on the Web

The 2025 New York City Marathon results are in, with winners from the men’s and women’s races crossing the finish line before noon. —Riley Jones, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2025

Of more than 151 roads affected by the storm, only 11 had been fully restored as of noon on Thursday and 134 remain blocked. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025

Both were found dead in the 6600 block of Leeds Lane around noon. —Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 29 Oct. 2025

Under his order, Abrego Garcia must respond to the government’s motion to quash the Blanche subpoena by Wednesday, with a DOJ reply due by noon on Thursday. —Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English nōn ninth hour from sunrise, from Latin nona, from feminine of nonus ninth; akin to Latin novem nine — more at nine

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing noon

• high noon
• morning, noon, and night
• pre-noon

Rhymes for noon

• boon
• brune
• coon
• croon
• dune
• goon
• hewn
• hoon
• june
• loon
• moon
• poon

Kids Definition

noon

noun

ˈnün 

: the middle of the day : 12 o'clock in the daytime

noon adjective

Etymology

Old English nōn "ninth hour from sunrise," derived from Latin nona, a feminine form of nonus "ninth," from novem "nine"

Word Origin

Noon has not always meant "12 o'clock in the daytime." In the ancient Roman way of keeping track of time, the hours of the day were counted from sunrise to sunset. The ninth hour of their day (about 3 p.m. nowadays) was called nona, Latin for "ninth." In the early period of English, the word was borrowed as nōn, also referring to the ninth hour after sunrise. By the 14th century, however, the word came to be used for midday, 12 o'clock, as we use it today.