night

[ nahyt ]

/ naɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR night ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise.

the beginning of this period; nightfall.

the darkness of night; the dark.

a condition or time of obscurity, ignorance, sinfulness, misfortune, etc.: the long night of European history known as the Dark Ages.

(sometimes initial capital letter) an evening used or set aside for a particular event, celebration, or other special purpose: a night on the town; poker night; New Year's Night.

adjective

of or relating to night: the night hours.

occurring, appearing, or seen at night: a night raid; a night bloomer.

used or designed to be used at night: to take a night coach; the night entrance.

working at night: night nurse; the night shift.

active at night: the night feeders of the jungle.

RELATED WORDS

perpetually

Nearby words

nigger heaven, nigger of the narcissus, the, niggle, niggling, nigh, night, night and day, night blindness, night bolt, night coach, night court

Idioms

night and day,

unceasingly; continually: She worked night and day until the job was done.
a complete difference; completely different: The improvement in her grades after tutoring was like night and day.

Also day and night.

Origin of night

before 900; Middle English; Old English niht, neaht, cognate with German Nacht, Gothic nahts, Latin nox (stem noct-), Greek nýx (stem nykt-)

Related forms

night·less, adjectivenight·less·ly, adverbnight·like, adjective

Can be confused

knight night

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for night and day

night

/ (naɪt) /

noun

the period of darkness each 24 hours between sunset and sunrise, as distinct from day

(modifier) of, occurring, working, etc, at nighta night nurse

the occurrence of this period considered as a unitfour nights later they left

the period between sunset and retiring to bed; evening

the time between bedtime and morningshe spent the night alone

the weather conditions of the nighta clear night

the activity or experience of a person during a night

(sometimes capital) any evening designated for a special observance or function

nightfall or dusk

a state or period of gloom, ignorance, etc

make a night of it to go out and celebrate for most of the night

night and day continuallythat baby cries night and day

Related forms

Related adjective: nocturnal

Derived Forms

nightless, adjectivenightlike, adjective

Word Origin for night

Old English niht; compare Dutch nacht, Latin nox, Greek nux

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with night and day (1 of 2)

night and day

Also day and night. Continually, without stopping. This phrase is used either literally, as in The alarm is on night and day, or hyperbolically, as in We were working day and night on these drawings. Shakespeare put it by night and day in The Comedy of Errors (4:2): “Time comes stealing on by night and day.”

Idioms and Phrases with night and day (2 of 2)

night

In addition to the idioms beginning with night

night and day
night owl

also see:

black as night
call it a day (night)
dead of (night)
different as night and day
good night
make a day (night) of it
ships that pass in the night

night

noun

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of night

Related forms

Can be confused

British Dictionary definitions for night and day

night

noun

Related forms

Derived Forms

Word Origin for night

Idioms and Phrases with night and day (1 of 2)

night and day

Idioms and Phrases with night and day (2 of 2)

night