night owl

[ nahyt oul ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a person who often stays up late at night; nighthawk.

night owl

noun

1. informal.
   a person who is or prefers to be up and about late at night

Word History and Origins

Origin of night owl¹

First recorded in 1585–95

Idioms and Phrases

A person who habitually stays up late and is active at night, as in You can call her after midnight, for she's a night owl . This colloquial term, originally used in the late 1500s for an owl that is active at night, was transferred to nocturnal human beings in the mid-1800s.

Example Sentences

From a tree near the forest Tess could hear the screech of a night-owl die away in smothered laughter.

From Project Gutenberg

It was some one mimicking a night-owl, and doing it very badly, as the boy's true ear detected at once.

From Project Gutenberg

Shall we rouse the night-owl in a catch, that will draw three souls out of one weaver?

From Project Gutenberg

So fill the glasses, once more, from the wassail-bowl, and let us "rouse the night-owl" in another "catch!"

From Project Gutenberg

The lights were low, and Clem, a night-owl, fixed him in a chair near the door.

From Project Gutenberg