midnight

American  

[mid-nahyt] / ˈmɪdˌnaɪt /

noun

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

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adjective

1. of or relating to midnight.

2. resembling midnight, as in darkness.

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.

midnight British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• midnightly adjective
• postmidnight adjective
• premidnight noun

Etymology

Origin of midnight

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

Example Sentences

Many of them were asleep after celebrating till midnight at a birthday party.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

From the expansive photo archives of his living room to a midnight shoot in the industrial heart of Chinatown, Reynaldo Rivera reveals the ghosts of Old Hollywood and the messy humanity captured in his lens.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

From midnight the excise duty was cut by 20 cent on a litre of diesel and by 15 cent for petrol until the end of May.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

“I charge my car after midnight because the rate is lower because the consumption is lower.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

Then she always had to spend another eternity drying her hair—she’d be doing well to make it back to Chip’s house before midnight.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix