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

Meanwhile, The Wharf Fort Lauderdale will host a Colombian Independence Day celebration beginning at noon Saturday, with $6 aguardiente shots from 6 to 11 p.m. and live music all night. —Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 18 July 2024

There are weekday shows at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4-6 then another weekend schedule of Saturday at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon, 3 and 6 p.m. Tickets for the Connecticut booking are already on sale for the company’s Club Cirque members. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 17 July 2024

On the last day of the fair, July 27, at noon, the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association will host a competition in which participants ride on horseback and shoot black powder blanks at balloons. —Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun, 17 July 2024

The course Bayview Yacht Club says boats start leaving the Black River in Port Huron around 8 a.m. on race day and will continue leaving until around noon. —Detroit Free Press, 16 July 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.