night owl

American  

[nahyt oul] / ˈnaɪt ˌaʊl /

noun

Informal.

1. a person who often stays up late at night; nighthawk.

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night owl British  

noun

1. informal a person who is or prefers to be up and about late at night

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night owl Idioms  

1. A person who habitually stays up late and is active at night, as in You can call her after midnight, for she's a night owl. This colloquial term, originally used in the late 1500s for an owl that is active at night, was transferred to nocturnal human beings in the mid-1800s.

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Etymology

Origin of night owl

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

Some people are natural early birds, others night owls.

From The Wall Street Journal

I’m a night owl, so on a Sunday especially, I’m going to let myself sleep in.

From Los Angeles Times

Compared with people in the intermediate category, those classified as "evening people," often called night owls, were 79% more likely to have an overall poor cardiovascular health score.

From Science Daily

“An Estrie is a night owl. In our tradition, she is a woman who can become one, who, like a vampire, feeds on blood to survive.”

From Literature

"It's normal for teens to be night owls, so let them catch up on sleep on weekends if they can't get enough sleep during the week because that's likely to be somewhat protective," Casement said.

From Science Daily