nightfall
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of nightfall
Explanation
Nightfall is the part of a day when the sun goes down and evening begins. In suburban neighborhoods, parents often call their kids to come home for dinner at nightfall. It gets dark at nightfall, marking the end of the day. You can also all this time dusk or twilight. If your dad warns you to be home from your bike ride by nightfall, he wants you home before sunset. Nightfall has a bit of an old fashioned, poetic sound, and it dates from the early eighteenth century, a combination of night, from the Old English niht, or "darkness," and fall, or "come suddenly."
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.
By nightfall, the country would begin to learn the outcome.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026
By nightfall, videos show public gatherings across Tehran, Karaj and Isfahan, where thousands of Iranians celebrate or mourn Khamenei’s killing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
The search began in the morning and was still going well past nightfall.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2026
He said climbing tours were popular and the weather conditions were good, but wondered why the mountaineers were climbing late in the afternoon, as the descent would have then taken until nightfall.
From BBC • Nov. 2, 2025
By nightfall the boards lifted each time she rocked back and then cracked down as she came forward.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
