nightly
Americanadjective
adjective
-
happening or relating to each night
-
happening at night
adverb
Etymology
Origin of nightly
before 900; Middle English; Old English nihtlīc. See night, -ly
Explanation
Nightly things happen on a regular basis, every single night. Your nightly exercise routine and sponge bath are good examples of this. You can use nightly as an adjective or adverb, to describe something that occurs every night. The sun sets nightly, and most people eat dinner nightly and climb into bed nightly. Your exercise regimen might include nightly sit ups, and your dog may require nightly walks around the block. The Old English root of nightly is niht, which means both "night" and "darkness."
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.
The broad audience reach and the nightly airing of these shows have ensured that the jokes create a broad interpretive community that translates comedic barbs into collective consciousness.
From Salon • May 19, 2026
What was once a sacred nightly routine—putting the toddler to bed, collapsing onto the couch and opening their laptops to finish their work in peace—had become anything but peaceful.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026
The Welshman kept his cool during an early blitz from Littler in the final and came through to claim back-to-back nightly wins and his fourth of the year.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
Billed here as Nine Inch Noize, the pairing had experience on stages together, teaming up for the nightly middle third of Nails’ recent Peel It Back tour.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
Zohra and I are settling in for our nightly chat.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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.
