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 noon kickoff time was news to offensive coordinator Todd Fitch and the 49ers’ offense, which failed to find the end zone for the entirety of the game, losing 28-7. —Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 15 Nov. 2025

The incident occurred shortly before noon local time at 42 Avenue Montaigne in Paris’ luxury retail district, home to flagships of leading fashion and jewelry houses. —Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 15 Nov. 2025

In certain areas, such as Southern Ventura County, a flash flood warning is in effect until noon local time Saturday. —Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Nov. 2025

Police responded to reports of shots fired on or near campus shortly before noon, Beere said. —Phil Helsel, NBC news, 14 Nov. 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.