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Synonyms

burn the midnight oil

Cultural  

  1. To stay awake late at night to work or study: “Jill has been burning the midnight oil lately; I guess she has a big exam coming up.”

burn the midnight oil Idioms  

  1. Stay up late working or studying, as in The semester is almost over and we're all burning the midnight oil before exams. This expression alludes to the oil in oil lamps. [Early 1600s]

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.

Another cup of coffee — or an early happy hour over Zoom — helps burn the midnight oil.

From New York Times

“We’ve been told, ‘Don’t burn the midnight oil like you normally do’,” he said.

From Washington Post

Business is booming faster than many start-up firms can hire new staff, forcing workers to burn the midnight oil to meet deadlines.

From Reuters

The book will make you burn the midnight oil.

From Project Gutenberg

He burns the midnight oil in deep studies.

From Project Gutenberg

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.