midnight
Americannoun
adjective
-
of or relating to midnight.
-
resembling midnight, as in darkness.
idioms
noun
-
-
the middle of the night; 12 o'clock at night
-
( as modifier )
the midnight hour
-
-
to work or study late into the night
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of midnight
before 900; Middle English; Old English midniht. See mid-, night
Explanation
Midnight is the moment at which one day ends and the next begins — it's twelve o' clock at night. Follow the Fairy Godmother's advice to Cinderella, and always get home before midnight. At midnight, the date changes, and the time changes from PM to AM. It's no surprise that midnight is the very middle of the night, the word itself stemming from the Old English mid-niht, from mid, "among" or "in the middle of," and night, from niht, which appropriately means both "night" and "darkness."
Vocabulary lists containing midnight
Blue
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: mid-
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
She set off after midnight from her village in central Ukraine to reach Kyiv before dawn and sell milk, sour cream, butter and cottage cheese from her own cows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Circuit held an emergency hearing in a lawsuit filed by the news outlets, and at around midnight, Judge Kelly issued a temporary restraining order to stop the White House ban for 14 days.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
But shortly before midnight, a three-judge Court of Appeal panel overturned the injunction, ruling that the judge had "erred in law".
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
During the day, I probably took a nap so my brain is activated around 11 p.m. to midnight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
If the world came to a standstill at midnight on January 1, 2000, at least she would have two things she cherished: peaches and Michael.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
