nighthawk

[ nahyt-hawk ]

/ ˈnaɪtˌhɔk /

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See synonyms for: nighthawk / nighthawks on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of several longwinged, American goatsuckers of the genus Chordeiles, related to the whippoorwill, especially C. minor, having variegated black, white, and buff plumage.

the European goatsucker or nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus.

Informal. a person who is habitually up or moving about late at night; night owl.

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Origin of nighthawk

First recorded in 1605–15; night + hawk¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nighthawk in a sentence

Out of the darkening sky rang the twanging call of a night-hawk, and the cluck of a dozing hen sounded from the foliage overhead.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd
The night-hawk flew low and touched my eyes with his wings as he flapped by, and I awoke.
Wild Western Scenes|John Beauchamp Jones
Indirectly, Sorr, you have rescued from an onprincipled son av a night-hawk the peasanthry av a numerous village.
Soldier Stories|Rudyard Kipling
Presently a night-hawk began to flit about me, then another and another, skimming just above the marsh as silent as the shadows.
Roof and Meadow|Dallas Lore Sharp

"Perhaps a little whiskey would do him good," suggested a night-hawk who had just opened the door of the reporters' room.
McClure's Magazine, January, 1896, Vol. VI. No. 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for nighthawk

nighthawk

/ (ˈnaɪtˌhɔːk) /

noun

Also called: bullbat, mosquito hawk any American nightjar of the genus Chordeiles and related genera, having a dark plumage and, in the male, white patches on the wings and tail

informal another name for night owl

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

nighthawk

Origin of nighthawk

Words related to nighthawk

How to use nighthawk in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nighthawk