overnight
Americanadverb
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for or during the night.
to stay overnight.
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on or during the previous evening.
Preparations were made overnight.
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very quickly; suddenly.
New suburbs sprang up overnight.
adjective
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done, made, occurring, or continuing during the night.
an overnight stop; an overnight decision.
-
staying for one night.
a group of overnight guests.
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designed to be used on a trip or for a journey lasting one night or only a few nights.
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intended for delivery on the next day.
overnight letters; an overnight package.
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valid for one night.
The corporal got an overnight pass.
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occurring suddenly or within a very short time.
a comedian who became an overnight sensation.
noun
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Informal. an overnight stay or trip.
Our daughter had an overnight at a friend's house.
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Informal. a permit for overnight absence, as from a college dormitory.
She had an overnight the night of the prom.
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the previous evening.
verb (used without object)
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overnights,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overnighted,
past participle, past
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overnighting
present participle
adverb
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for the duration of the night
we stopped overnight
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in or as if in the course of one night; suddenly
the situation changed overnight
adjective
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done in, occurring in, or lasting the night
an overnight stop
-
staying for one night
overnight guests
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lasting one night
an overnight trip
an overnight bank loan
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for use during a single night
overnight clothes
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occurring in or as if in the course of one night; sudden
an overnight victory
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overnightsimple
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overnightssimple
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have overnightedperfect
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has overnightedperfect
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am overnightingprogressive
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are overnightingprogressive
-
is overnightingprogressive
-
have been overnightingperfect progressive
-
has been overnightingperfect progressive
Past
-
overnightedsimple
-
had overnightedperfect
-
was overnightingprogressive
-
were overnightingprogressive
-
had been overnightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overnight
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at over-, night
Explanation
When something happens overnight, it occurs during the hours of one night. An overnight party can also be called a sleepover or a slumber party. (Pack your sleeping bag, but you probably won't use it.) You can use overnight as an adverb or adjective literally meaning "during the night" — like an overnight airplane flight or a guest who stays overnight on your couch. You can also use it figuratively, to mean "quickly" or "instant." After you publish your first book, you may be an overnight success; and after an important election, the world may seem to change overnight.
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.
See Examples For:
Brent crude oil rose to settle near $91.00 per barrel overnight, which stoked fresh inflation worries, the team adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Offshore wind power, a complement to solar because it blows overnight, is lagging in California in the face of powerful political opposition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Many stayed outside overnight as dozens of aftershocks threatened to bring down compromised buildings.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
This is particularly true for the overnight repurchase, or repo, market, where borrowers pledge bonds for cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Worse that happens, we make repairs. Might take overnight, but I can get the ship flying again.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
And a few more hospital overnights than were on the holiday itinerary...
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nobody imagined using Wi-Fi to livestream Thursday Night Football from a multinational tech conglomerate that also overnights toilet paper and garden gnomes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
“As the heat builds day by day there will be little relief during the overnights, especially within the Las Vegas valley and Death Valley National Park,” the warning said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
The Fortune Creek Huts near Cle Elum are also open for their first season of backcountry overnights, having survived legal challenges from the Washington State Snowmobile Association.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2022
Grandma and Mother continued to work very hard to keep secrets about whether Papa really had left home forever or whether or not he was on one of his frequent overnights.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Weezer overnighted a tape to Bell, who overdubbed himself playing on the band’s songs as a kind of audition, then sent the tape back to New York.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
Of the affected voters, a lawyer for the county told the court that 585 had already been overnighted a ballot or had canceled their absentee ballot and voted early.
From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2022
Mr. Budowich said the committee overnighted a formal letter alerting him to the subpoena which arrived at his residence in California on Dec. 22.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 29, 2021
Had we chosen an urban Quebec vacation we probably would have overnighted at Auberge de St. Antoine which offers a 40 percent winter discount.
From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2018
Afraid she wouldn’t be allowed on the plane, Fox phoned her father, who overnighted her passport.
From Washington Post
BTW: If you’re overnighting in Paso Robles, consider Sensorio, a walk-through display of ever-changing lights, most of it concocted by artist Bruce Munro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2025
The men in separate canoes were returning to shore after overnighting on the lake’s Deer Island.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
My friend’s mom notably wrangled our gang of overnighting 20-somethings with the imperturbable grace of a seasoned host.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021
My vote goes to overnighting in bigger Prineville, with a morning detour in Mitchell for coffee and croissants.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 25, 2021
Sometimes he travelled closer to the city, overnighting in places like the Merri Creek reserve.
From Underground by Suelette Dreyfus
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.
