afternoon
Americanadjective
noun
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the period of the day between noon and evening
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( as modifier )
afternoon tea
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a middle or later part
the afternoon of life
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of afternoon
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at 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."
Vocabulary lists containing afternoon
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.
See Examples For:
"In the morning I am at the hospital working, and in the afternoon I'm in the forest helping," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
When he returns from a day of walking cobblestone streets or a bike tour, he expects a warm towel and afternoon tea, not a DJ.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Yet the dollar’s recent strength isn’t translating into much relief for Warsh ahead of his second rate-setting meeting as Fed chair, which concludes Wednesday afternoon.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
The 7.1-magnitude quake struck the southwestern region of Kumamoto prefecture on Kyushu island on Tuesday afternoon, causing widespread damage, sparking fires and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
“I've got math tutoring this summer, OK? I have it later this afternoon, and I didn’t do the problems I was supposed to.”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Why aren’t we talking about Pogacar’s staggering performance, or great afternoons from riders like Richard Carapaz and Mads Pedersen?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
I find myself reaching for the stovetop version after long afternoons at the lake and the baked version on the first truly cold weekends of fall.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
His father was a Southern Baptist minister, and his Sunday morning sermons were broadcast on the radio in the afternoons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Kathie also recalled nights at the dwelling spent playing the piano with Dolly Parton, or sun-filled afternoons on the tennis court enjoying matches against President Donald Trump and his father, Fred Trump.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
“I was assigned to help clean out the rooms for the new guests in the afternoons, since they’re going to be here next week, ma’am,” Ophie tried to explain.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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.
