afternoon

American  

[af-ter-noon, ahf-, af-ter-noon, ahf-, af-, ahf-] / ˌæf tərˈnun, ˌɑf-, ˈæf tərˈnun, ˈɑf-, ˌæf-, ˌɑf- /

noun

1. the time from noon until evening.

2. the latter part.

   the afternoon of life.

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adjective

1. pertaining to the latter part of the day.

afternoon British  

/ ˌɑːftəˈnuːn /

noun

1. 1. the period of the day between noon and evening

   2. ( as modifier )

      afternoon tea

2. a middle or later part

   the afternoon of life

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Other Word Forms

• preafternoon noun

Etymology

Origin of afternoon

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; after, noon

Explanation

The afternoon is the time of day that starts mid-day and ends in the evening. If you have an afternoon appointment, it's probably some time between 12:00 and 5:00 p.m. It's pretty much agreed that the afternoon begins after noon, or 12:00 p.m., but when the afternoon ends and evening begins is a bit more vague. Still, if you ask a friend to meet you for coffee in the afternoon, she will know what you mean. You can even use the word afternoon as a casual greeting, short for "Good afternoon!" In Middle English, the word was aftermete, meaning "after the noon meal."

Example Sentences

A vegetation fire that ignited in Riverside County on Wednesday afternoon damaged at least one home and triggered evacuations in Jurupa Valley.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Nvidia shares were up 0.3% at $197.07 in early afternoon trading.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Event organizer Stefan Pildes was arrested Wednesday and is expected to appear in court this afternoon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Shares of Albertsons were down 2.1% in recent afternoon trading but had pared earlier losses of 5.4%.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

The afternoon sun sparked off the square specs riding down his nose.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck