midnight

[mid-nahyt]

noun

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

adjective

1. of or relating to midnight.

2. resembling midnight, as in darkness.

midnight

/ ˈmɪdˌnaɪt /

noun

1. 1. the middle of the night; 12 o'clock at night

   2. ( as modifier )

      the midnight hour

2. to work or study late into the night

Other Word Forms

• midnightly adjective
• postmidnight adjective
• premidnight noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of midnight¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. burn the midnight oil, to study or work far into the night.

   After months of burning the midnight oil, he really needed a vacation.

Example Sentences

A Met Office yellow weather alert covering all of Scotland expired at midnight, however a smaller warning area for high winds in the north east remains until midday.

From BBC

In the noughties, excited children waited outside bookshops for midnight launches of the latest Harry Potter adventure, while tennis fans camping overnight in the hope of getting into Wimbledon is a dependable sight every year.

From BBC

The amber warning remains in place until 21:00 in the north of Scotland and across the rest of the country until midnight.

From BBC

“You know when that clock hits midnight that carriage is going to turn into a pumpkin. You don’t have an answer. You kind of saw that against New York.”

From Los Angeles Times

An amber weather warning remains in place until 21:00 in the north of Scotland, while a wider yellow warning extends to northern England and parts of Wales until midnight.

From BBC