daytime
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of daytime
Explanation
When the sun is lighting up the sky outside, it's daytime. Most adults are at work during the daytime and come home at nighttime. While daytime is defined as "after sunrise and before sunset," it describes this time of day even on dark, gray, days, or in parts of the world that get limited sunlight during the winter. A more accurate way to think of daytime is the hours after you wake up in the morning and before you start to think about going to bed at night. When it's daytime where you are, it's nighttime on the opposite hemisphere of the Earth.
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.
He succeeds Peter Alexander, who left “Saturday Today” in March to become a daytime anchor at MS NOW.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
This suggests that daytime brightness, rather than light exposure at night, may be particularly relevant to the relationship identified in the study.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
He said the trust would not have enough consultants to staff both maternity units' daytime and out-of-hours rotas, adding that a transfer of services to Craigavon is "highly probable" from next month.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Once her son started school, Jonas wanted to switch to daytime hours to maximize her time with him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
It is so still in the daytime, with no lights and no music and no crowds of people.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
