tonight

1 of 2

adverb

to·​night tə-ˈnīt How to pronounce tonight (audio)
: on this present night or the night following this present day
will do it tonight

tonight

2 of 2

noun

: the present night or the night following this present day

Examples of tonight in a Sentence

Adverb This afternoon I'm busy, but tonight I'm free. Noun Tonight's party should be fun. He is staying until tonight.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Next up, Orbital will perform tonight in Chicago and Sunday at Miami’s Ultra festival, and after Coachella will bring the Green/Brown album performances to the U.K. for nine shows beginning April 24 in Exeter. Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 23 Mar. 2024 But for the first time tonight on 20/20 , Ruby’s actions will be laid out in her own words – through her journal entries, interrogation tapes of both Ruby and Kevin and jailhouse calls with Ruby’s and Hildebrandt’s friends and family. Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024 Make this Lemon Tiramisu tonight, and you won't be disappointed. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024 Hunter’s plays have been produced over the past 10 years at the Old Globe, Cygnet Theatre and Diversionary Theatre, but nowhere more often than at OnStage Playhouse in Chula Vista, which will open its third Hunter play in five years tonight. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2024 The Arkansas-Auburn series is starting a day earlier than the Razorbacks' previous weekend series because tonight's game is being televised on the SEC Network, but Van Horn said doesn't expect the pitchers to be affected by the scheduling change. Bob Holt, arkansasonline.com, 21 Mar. 2024 The series snagged nominations at this year’s Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards and is nominated at tonight’s GLAAD Media Awards. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024 The Disney+ version of the ‘The Eras Tour’ film featuring the surprise song setlist is set to premiere tonight, March 14 at 9 p.m. Eastern. Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024 Mostly clear skies are expected tonight, and high clouds will move across the region on Tuesday. The Enquirer, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tonight.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tonight was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near tonight

Cite this Entry

“Tonight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tonight. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tonight

1 of 2 adverb
to·​night tə-ˈnīt How to pronounce tonight (audio)
: on this present night or the night following this present day

tonight

2 of 2 noun
: the present or the coming night

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