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Synonyms

first night

American  

noun

  1. opening night.

first night British  

noun

    1. the first public performance of a play or other production

    2. ( as modifier )

      first-night nerves
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of first night

First recorded in 1705–15

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.

Injured on the first night of the battle, he was resting in the pouring rain beneath a tree when Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman found him.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

Jack Johnson headlined the first night and Roger Waters closed the main stage, performing Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and letting a giant inflatable pig loose in the sky.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

"We found it the first night, and it completely changed our plans for the course," Ji said.

From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2026

Back in Lakeland, Israel Vázquez takes no credit for feeding the baby that first night or the ones after.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

And look back at what happened during Josie’s first night at school.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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.