midnight

[ mid-nahyt ]

noun

1. the middle of the night; twelve o'clock at night.

adjective

1. of or relating to midnight.
2. resembling midnight, as in darkness.

midnight

/ ˈmɪdˌnaɪt /

noun

1. 1. the middle of the night; 12 o'clock at night
   2. ( as modifier )

      the midnight hour

2. burn the midnight oil
   to work or study late into the night

Derived Forms

• ˈmidˌnightly, adjectiveadverb

Other Words From

• midnightly adjective adverb
• post·midnight adjective
• pre·midnight noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of midnight¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English midniht. See mid-, night

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. burn the midnight oil, to study or work far into the night:

   After months of burning the midnight oil, he really needed a vacation.

Example Sentences

The mystery mollusk is the first known nudibranch to live in a deep-water column, specifically in the ocean’s midnight zone — open water about 1,000 to 4,000 meters below the surface.

From Los Angeles Times

For Mr Edwards, Waring was "right at the core" of what happened to his daughter shortly before midnight on 24 December 2022.

From BBC

Before Krasinski was crowned Sexiest Man Alive, a person online correctly predicted the outcome before the midnight reveal on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

From Salon

The 65-minute film will premiere Saturday at Walt Disney Concert Hall with live accompaniment by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as part of the Noon to Midnight daylong festival of new music.

From Los Angeles Times

Jared Yates Sexton is a journalist and author of the book "The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis."

From Salon