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.
IBM unveiled its Quantum Nighthawk processor, set for delivery by year-end, and made progress on the Loon processor for fault-tolerant quantum computing.
From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025
Nighthawk, which follows IBM’s Heron processor, is slated to be available to IBM users by the end of this year, the company said.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 12, 2025
Emily Hilleren, 41-year-old who works in data analysis, has helped spearhead the effort at Nighthawk, which started when she ordered some 200 whistles after seeing local news coverage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
Okanogan County Public Utilities Department continued to replace damaged poles Tuesday along the Loomis-Oroville Road, which is closed from Miners Landing to Similkameen Road near Nighthawk, according to the county.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 1, 2023
Baird had recently gotten a Honda Nighthawk 650.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
