definitions

midnight

[ mid-nahyt ]
/ ˈmɪdˌnaɪt /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR midnight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the middle of the night; twelve o'clock at night.

adjective

of or relating to midnight.
resembling midnight, as in darkness.

RELATED CONTENT

What Do A.M. And P.M. Stand For?Most English speakers know that a.m. refers to the hours from midnight and noon, and p.m. to the hours from noon and midnight. But what do these ubiquitous abbreviations stand for? The term we associate with the morning, a.m., is an abbreviation the Latin phrase ante merīdiem meaning “before midday”; p.m. is an abbreviation of post merīdiem, meaning—you guessed it—“after midday.” These two terms help …
READ MORE
Why Did “Noon” Used To Mean 3:00?Surprisingly, the term noon wasn’t always shorthand for midday at 12:00; in fact, it used to refer to a different time of day altogether.
READ MORE

Nearby words

midlothian, midmorning, midmost, midn, midn., midnight, midnight blue, midnight oil, midnight sun, midnoon, midpoint

Idioms

    burn the midnight oil, to study or work far into the night: After months of burning the midnight oil, he really needed a vacation.

Origin of midnight

before 900; Middle English; Old English midniht. See mid-, night

Related forms

mid·night·ly, adjective, adverbpost·mid·night, adjectivepre·mid·night, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for midnight

British Dictionary definitions for midnight

midnight

/ (ˈmɪdˌnaɪt) /

noun

  1. the middle of the night; 12 o'clock at night
  2. (as modifier)the midnight hour
burn the midnight oil to work or study late into the night

Derived Forms

midnightly, adjective, adverb
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