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

April 10, 1912 | noon: Titanic leaves Southhampton, sails to Cherbourg, France (88 nm). —George Petras, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024

Here are the Sacramento County food facility inspections for April 4 through Wednesday, as of noon Thursday: If an inspection listed below needs clarification, business owners can email Sacramento Bee reporter Jacqueline Pinedo at [e-mail]. —Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 12 Apr. 2024

The program begins with an 11 a.m. social hour April 25 at the Wisconsin Club, 900 W. Wisconsin Ave., followed by lunch at noon and then Brunt at 12:45 p.m. —Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024

The Heat announced Tuesday that individual game tickets for postseason home games will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday at noon. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2024

The Crazy Norwegian’s Fish & Chips is open from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 259 Sixth St. in Port Orford. —Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024

The lawn, near Coach, Yard House and Cold Stone Creamery, was filled with chairs, blankets and strollers around noon. —Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2024

At noon, there were three crashes on area highways: A crash is blocking the left westbound lane of I-275 just before the I-74 split. —The Enquirer, 8 Apr. 2024

Whisked through the woods and villages of western Maine — Rabbi Isaacs drove 10 of the 60 blocks herself in her pickup truck — the ice arrived at the synagogue just after noon. —Jenna Russell Tristan Spinski, New York Times, 6 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.