all-night
Americanadjective
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taking up, extending through, or occurring continually during an entire night; nightlong.
an all-night vigil.
-
open all night, as for business; providing services, accommodations, etc., at all hours of the night.
an all-night restaurant.
Etymology
Origin of all-night
First recorded in 1520–30
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.
Dutifully but vacantly, he keeps an all-night vigil by her coffin.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
There were decades of traveling the world giving improvisatory keyboard recitals that sometimes included all-night organ recitals in Gothic French cathedrals.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2025
It just so happened that the band's rehearsal space was directly opposite a cinema that showed all-night horror movies.
From BBC • Jul. 23, 2025
Following Cher's birth, Holt struggled financially as a waitress at an all-night diner.
From Salon • Nov. 20, 2024
“Well, yeah, of course you’ve gotta go. I’m coming. Let’s go on Sunday morning. I’ll be tired from all-night prom partying, but whatever.”
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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.
