all-night
Americanadjective
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taking up, extending through, or occurring continually during an entire night; nightlong.
an all-night vigil.
-
open all night, as for business; providing services, accommodations, etc., at all hours of the night.
an all-night restaurant.
Etymology
Origin of all-night
First recorded in 1520–30
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.
As activists gather beneath tarpaulin sheets in New Delhi, often holding all-night political debates, singing or reciting poetry, delivery drivers from online platforms weave through the barricades.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
After Mexico’s stunning 2-0 win over Ecuador on Tuesday—its first in a World Cup elimination match in 40 years—more than one million people took to the capital’s streets for an all-night fiesta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
UCLA, as previously enacted, will allow preapproved overnight events — such as an all-night reading last October of famed Palestinian American author Edward Said’s memoir.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
Following Cher's birth, Holt struggled financially as a waitress at an all-night diner.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2024
Granny would prepare a lunch for the all-night praying session, and the three of us—Granny, Aunt Addie, and I—would be off, leaving my mother and Grandpa at home.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
