all-nighter
Americannoun
-
something that lasts, is available, or is open for business throughout the night.
The poker game turned into an all-nighter. Are any of the grocery stores all-nighters?
-
an act of staying up all night, as to study or finish a task.
I had to pull an all-nighter to get the paper done on time.
noun
Etymology
Origin of all-nighter
1890–95; all night + -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sharma expected the count to take an hour using bar code scanners, but they malfunctioned in the cold, forcing his team to pull an all-nighter and count manually.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
“I pulled almost an all-nighter last night, so he’s been keeping us up,” he said, exhaling a light chuckle.
From Salon • Sep. 30, 2025
Another said she was "furious", while a third complained he "did an all-nighter for nothing".
From BBC • Nov. 16, 2024
Like a student pulling an all-nighter to prepare for an exam, the Washington State Department of Transportation is pushing projects as fast as possible to meet a 2030 deadline to reopen 90% of upstream habitat.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 18, 2024
“Does she honestly think we can guard anything after pulling an all-nighter? I was so out of it today that the Colonies’ Chancellor himself could’ve walked into Batalla Hall and I wouldn’t have known it.”
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
