midnight
Americannoun
adjective
-
of or relating to midnight.
-
resembling midnight, as in darkness.
idioms
noun
-
-
the middle of the night; 12 o'clock at night
-
( as modifier )
the midnight hour
-
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to work or study late into the night
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of midnight
before 900; Middle English; Old English midniht. See mid-, night
Explanation
Midnight is the moment at which one day ends and the next begins — it's twelve o' clock at night. Follow the Fairy Godmother's advice to Cinderella, and always get home before midnight. At midnight, the date changes, and the time changes from PM to AM. It's no surprise that midnight is the very middle of the night, the word itself stemming from the Old English mid-niht, from mid, "among" or "in the middle of," and night, from niht, which appropriately means both "night" and "darkness."
Vocabulary lists containing midnight
Blue
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: mid-
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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.
For some it was before sunrise; others stayed up well past midnight in their time zone.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
As a result, tariffs of 50% on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, or about 5% of its U.S.-bound exports, went into force after midnight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Despite the issues, Root decided earlier this month to scrap the midnight curfew that was imposed in January.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
If they can’t, the new 50% levies and retaliatory Canadian measures are expected to go into effect after midnight Eastern time.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Around midnight, Mrs. Walter insisted Maggie try to sleep.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
