nightcap
Americannoun
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Informal. an alcoholic drink taken at bedtime or at the end of a festive evening.
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a cap for the head, intended primarily to be worn in bed.
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Sports Informal. the last event of the program for the day, especially the second game of a doubleheader in baseball or the last race of the day in horse racing.
noun
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a bedtime drink, esp an alcoholic or hot one
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a soft cap formerly worn in bed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nightcap
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at night, cap 1
Vocabulary lists containing nightcap
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.
That gin martini nightcap at the luxe Savoy hotel looks less appealing at $38 rather than £28.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
The nightcap was a Black Sabbath reunion featuring guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.
From Salon • Jul. 26, 2025
Inside, my bare feet walk on the qilim my mother “lent” me 15 years ago, and the air’s laced with cardamom from my decaf-black virgin nightcap.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2024
A younger married pair named Nick and Honey come over for the world’s longest and most hellacious nightcap.
From New York Times • Feb. 11, 2024
The decks were empty except for two first-class passengers, American businessmen sharing a nightcap under lap blankets.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
