overnight
Americanadverb
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for or during the night.
to stay overnight.
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on or during the previous evening.
Preparations were made overnight.
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very quickly; suddenly.
New suburbs sprang up overnight.
adjective
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done, made, occurring, or continuing during the night.
an overnight stop; an overnight decision.
-
staying for one night.
a group of overnight guests.
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designed to be used on a trip or for a journey lasting one night or only a few nights.
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intended for delivery on the next day.
overnight letters; an overnight package.
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valid for one night.
The corporal got an overnight pass.
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occurring suddenly or within a very short time.
a comedian who became an overnight sensation.
noun
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Informal. an overnight stay or trip.
Our daughter had an overnight at a friend's house.
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Informal. a permit for overnight absence, as from a college dormitory.
She had an overnight the night of the prom.
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the previous evening.
verb (used without object)
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overnights,
present (3rd person singular)
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overnighted,
past participle, past
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overnighting
present participle
adverb
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for the duration of the night
we stopped overnight
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in or as if in the course of one night; suddenly
the situation changed overnight
adjective
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done in, occurring in, or lasting the night
an overnight stop
-
staying for one night
overnight guests
-
lasting one night
an overnight trip
an overnight bank loan
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for use during a single night
overnight clothes
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occurring in or as if in the course of one night; sudden
an overnight victory
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overnightsimple
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overnightssimple
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have overnightedperfect
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has overnightedperfect
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am overnightingprogressive
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are overnightingprogressive
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is overnightingprogressive
-
have been overnightingperfect progressive
-
has been overnightingperfect progressive
Past
-
overnightedsimple
-
had overnightedperfect
-
was overnightingprogressive
-
were overnightingprogressive
-
had been overnightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overnight
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at over-, night
Explanation
When something happens overnight, it occurs during the hours of one night. An overnight party can also be called a sleepover or a slumber party. (Pack your sleeping bag, but you probably won't use it.) You can use overnight as an adverb or adjective literally meaning "during the night" — like an overnight airplane flight or a guest who stays overnight on your couch. You can also use it figuratively, to mean "quickly" or "instant." After you publish your first book, you may be an overnight success; and after an important election, the world may seem to change overnight.
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:
New plants take years to build, and rebuilding domestic capacity can’t happen overnight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The overnight strikes comes a day after Ozon's site in the Samara region was hit.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Thinner overnight markets could bring new risks for retail investors.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
A delicious deep dive on a chicken-finger empire: Raising Cane’s has inspired a near-religious following, with devotees traveling across state lines and camping overnight for store openings, all to worship at the altar of chicken.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
More significant, he ignited a phenomenon in the United States not seen before: Almost overnight, a chess boom arose.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
And a few more hospital overnights than were on the holiday itinerary...
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nobody imagined using Wi-Fi to livestream Thursday Night Football from a multinational tech conglomerate that also overnights toilet paper and garden gnomes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
Elegant, clutter-free and homey, the condominium is a calm place to come home to after working long shifts, including overnights, at Children’s Hospital.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
“I travel and camp in the backcountry year round and this includes overnights when the temperature dips to -20ºF,” she wrote via email.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2022
Conrad and I had just thought he was having overnights.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
The elder Hou had declined via text to come visit his son and grandchildren at their Las Vegas residence on his birthday, so Wen Hou overnighted him a traditional gift of handmade Chinese noodles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2025
He said he paid extra to have it overnighted to his home.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
Of the affected voters, a lawyer for the county told the court that 585 had already been overnighted a ballot or had canceled their absentee ballot and voted early.
From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2022
She occasionally overnighted about an hour outside Detroit with Judy Chiodo, a fellow Trump rally-trotter, rather than drive all the way home to Sault Ste. Marie.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2021
Had we chosen an urban Quebec vacation we probably would have overnighted at Auberge de St. Antoine which offers a 40 percent winter discount.
From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2018
BTW: If you’re overnighting in Paso Robles, consider Sensorio, a walk-through display of ever-changing lights, most of it concocted by artist Bruce Munro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2025
The men in separate canoes were returning to shore after overnighting on the lake’s Deer Island.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
Since then, he’s been a fixture in Madrona, overnighting on metal bus benches that were impossibly small for his big frame, then lugging his bags up and down the hills.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
My friend’s mom notably wrangled our gang of overnighting 20-somethings with the imperturbable grace of a seasoned host.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021
Sometimes he travelled closer to the city, overnighting in places like the Merri Creek reserve.
From Underground by Suelette Dreyfus
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.
