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.
The downtown dance party featuring electronic music by John Summit this spring wasn’t the typical all-nighter for Carson Gillaspia, a content creator who enjoys going to festivals and raves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Aditya Sharma recently went to bed at 6 a.m. after an all-nighter with his crew of generative-AI bots—systems that plan and execute multistep tasks like pulling data and writing code.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
"England's big all-nighter" leads the Daily Mail - as does a picture of Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon drinking from a wine glass.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 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
“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.
