definitions

night owl

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR night owl ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Informal.

a person who often stays up late at night; nighthawk.

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RELATED WORDS

rake, killer, philanderer, cat, player, wolf, womanizer, operator, sport, speed, tomcat, swinger, chaser, abandoned, corrupt, debauched, degenerate, depraved, dissipated

Nearby words

night light, night lizard, night monkey, night nurse, night office, night owl, night palsy, night person, night raven, night robe, night safe

Origin of night owl

First recorded in 1585–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for night owl

night owl

night hawk

noun

informal a person who is or prefers to be up and about late at night
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 owl

night owl

A person who habitually stays up late and is active at night, as in You can call her after midnight, for she's a night owl. This colloquial term, originally used in the late 1500s for an owl that is active at night, was transferred to nocturnal human beings in the mid-1800s.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.