noon

noun

1
: midday
specifically : 12 o'clock at midday
2
archaic : midnight
used chiefly in the phrase noon of night
3
: the highest point

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Saints play the Cardinals at noon on Sunday. Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025 Two Indiana men were driving the personal watercraft, with each carrying a female passenger, when the collision happened at about noon. Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025 The first live call-in show will be next Tuesday at noon, with Beshear joined by Progress host John Fugelsang. David Bauder, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025 While slots are hard to come by, a new batch will be released every Monday at noon. Denni Hu, Footwear News, 5 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for noon

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of noon was in the 13th century

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Cite this Entry

“Noon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noon. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

noon

noun
: 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.

More from Merriam-Webster on noon

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