nighthawk
Americannoun
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any of several longwinged, American goatsuckers of the genus Chordeiles, related to the whippoorwill, especially C. minor, having variegated black, white, and buff plumage.
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the European goatsucker or nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus.
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Informal. a person who is habitually up or moving about late at night; night owl.
noun
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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
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informal another name for night owl
Etymology
Origin of nighthawk
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.
Back then, Ahmed pipped Harry Brook to win a six-hitting contest among the Test squad in Pakistan and was England's first nighthawk during his debut in Karachi.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
He sat in the chair I had set out, and the nighthawk stood at attention beside him.
From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2017
Even a clutch of common nighthawk eggs, camouflaged in the sand, catches your eye.
From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2017
Nightjars, a kind of nighthawk also known as goatsuckers, sat on the roads that had been baked by the day’s sun to stay warm in the chilly night.
From Scientific American • Feb. 22, 2013
Owls were flying this night, shrieking to start their prey, and a nighthawk made soft rhythmic whoops in the distance.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
