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

• high noon
• lunch time
• midday
• noonday
• noontide
• noontime

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

Chief Sam Foster with the Whetstone Fire District said the fire was around 20 acres and about 20% contained as of noon Tuesday. —The Arizona Republic, 23 Apr. 2024

This is the timeline that Tonya has since pieced together: At noon on April 10, 2019, Betty was seen by her cleaning lady. —Anna Turning, NBC News, 23 Apr. 2024

Tickets for all the dates will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. local time on Friday (April 26), with a presale for Cyber Army/Megadeth Digital members kicking off today at noon local time here. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 23 Apr. 2024

The funeral service will be held at noon Friday at Genesis United Methodist Church, 7635 S. Hulen Street, Fort Worth. —David Ammenheuser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2024

The nomination period and poll voting will open every Monday and close at noon each Thursday. —The Courier-Journal, 22 Apr. 2024

Saturday hours: noon to 3 a.m. Goodfellas Pizzeria Cheesy bread, calzones, specialty pizzas and salads. —Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 19 Apr. 2024

BrewDog Denver, 3950 Wynkoop St., opens at noon Friday, April 19, in a 10,000-square-foot space with two patios, a 3.5-barrel brewing system, games and a full menu featuring burgers, giant pub pretzels, salads and wings. —Jonathan Shikes, The Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2024

When the Burger Pit opened for lunch at noon earlier this week, 29 customers were queued up in the line that snaked from the register to the front door. —Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024

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

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.