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
Derived 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.
But before the vote count ended shortly before midnight Tuesday, USC signaled that it would not accept the union victory.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
When nothing happened at midnight as 1999 turned over into 2000, many assumed the threat had been exaggerated — instead of recognizing that it had been successfully managed.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
They’re partying, but the smart investor won’t join a buzzing party after midnight.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
When Franyelis Parra arrived at an airport check-in counter just before midnight with her two children in tow, she believed she might finally be able to leave the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
Now, lots of thoughts scattered around my head just then, spilling here and there like marbles from a bag: it was well past midnight.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
