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Synonyms

first night

American  

noun

  1. opening night.

first night British  

noun

    1. the first public performance of a play or other production

    2. ( as modifier )

      first-night nerves
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of first night

First recorded in 1705–15

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.

After being rescued, the baby hippo spent its first night at a nursery in the capital Nairobi, being fed on milk and swaddled in a blanket.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

Injured on the first night of the battle, he was resting in the pouring rain beneath a tree when Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman found him.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

"We found it the first night, and it completely changed our plans for the course," Ji said.

From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2026

Back in Lakeland, Israel Vázquez takes no credit for feeding the baby that first night or the ones after.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

Despite Rafik's questionable health, the family talked Poppy into traveling out to the village that very first night.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

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.