Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

nightly

American  
[nahyt-lee] / ˈnaɪt li /

adjective

  1. coming or occurring each night.

    his nightly walk to the newsstand.

  2. coming, occurring, appearing, or active at night.

    nightly revels.

  3. of, relating to, or characteristic of night.

    the nightly gloom before a storm.

adverb

  1. on every night.

    performances given nightly.

  2. at or by night.

    an animal that is seen nightly.
nightly British  
/ ˈnaɪtlɪ /

adjective

  1. happening or relating to each night

  2. happening at night

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. at night or each night

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of nightly

before 900; Middle English; Old English nihtlīc. See night, -ly

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 Welshman was in stunning form throughout the evening, averaging 105.84 to beat Van Veen 6-2 in the final and move up to second in the table with his second nightly win of the campaign.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Ukraine has developed a suit of tools to fend off nightly Russian drone attacks, chief among then cheap and highly effective drone-on-drone interceptors.

From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026

At the meditation center, Sarah found people bathing with her hose nightly and leaving the water running, cutting into water lines, and making warming fires close to the building.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Worried about all those snaking security lines flooding social-media feeds and the nightly news?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

The nightly parade is going on: girls walk with arms linked by boys who pretend not to notice them, while other boys whiz by on skateboards.

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm

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.