overnight

[ adverb oh-ver-nahyt; adjective noun oh-ver-nahyt; verb oh-ver-nahyt ]

adverb

1. for or during the night:

   to stay overnight.

2. on or during the previous evening:

   Preparations were made overnight.

3. very quickly; suddenly:

   New suburbs sprang up overnight.

adjective

1. done, made, occurring, or continuing during the night:

   an overnight stop; an overnight decision.

2. staying for one night:

   a group of overnight guests.

3. designed to be used on a trip or for a journey lasting one night or only a few nights. night.
4. intended for delivery on the next day:

   overnight letters; an overnight package.

5. valid for one night:

   The corporal got an overnight pass.

6. occurring suddenly or within a very short time:

   a comedian who became an overnight sensation.

noun

1. Informal. an overnight stay or trip:

   Our daughter had an overnight at a friend's house.

2. Informal. a permit for overnight absence, as from a college dormitory:

   She had an overnight the night of the prom.

3. the previous evening.

verb (used without object)

1. to have an overnight stay or trip:

   We'll overnight in Denver, then fly on to San Diego.

overnight

adverb

1. for the duration of the night

   we stopped overnight

2. in or as if in the course of one night; suddenly

   the situation changed overnight

adjective

1. done in, occurring in, or lasting the night

   an overnight stop

2. staying for one night

   overnight guests

3. lasting one night

   an overnight trip

   an overnight bank loan

4. for use during a single night

   overnight clothes

5. occurring in or as if in the course of one night; sudden

   an overnight victory

verb

1. to stay the night

Word History and Origins

Origin of overnight¹

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; over-, night

Example Sentences

We can't hope to transition the way we produce and eat sugar overnight.

From Salon

The agency's first responders had also recovered the bodies of seven people killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, he added.

From BBC

It comes as eight people, including a child, were killed in a drone attack on Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy overnight, where 89 were also killed in a separate strike on Sunday.

From BBC

Mr. Frommer’s call to travel touched a chord — the first 5,000 copies of his 120-page book, which he published himself, sold out almost overnight — and it did so at a fortuitous moment.

From New York Times

Temperatures are expected to fall to minus 3C overnight with challenging conditions expected for the rest of the week, including snow, ice and freezing rain.

From BBC

Related Words

• brief
• interim
• limited
• makeshift
• momentary
• provisional
• short-lived
• transitory