night

NYT/naɪt/

8 meanings of night

1
time of daynouncountable
The time between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon and the sky is dark; the darkness of this time.
The night was so clear that we could see thousands of stars.
Owls hunt during the night, while most other animals are asleep.
UsageSay at night for nights in general. For the one just past, last night is much more common than yesterday night.
Similarnighttime, darkness, dark
Oppositeday, daytime
2
nouncountable
An evening or night given to a particular activity, event or occasion, such as a quiz or a game.
The pub hosts a trivia night every Thursday.
We're planning a night of board games and snacks this weekend.
UsageOften after a noun, quiz night, movie night, or as a night of + activity, a night out.
Similarevening
Note
The social sense measures a night by what fills it rather than by the clock. Evening and night overlap freely here, so an event that ends early still counts.
3
unit of staynouncountable
A span of time amounting to a day, or at minimum a single night.
They stayed two nights at the inn before moving on.
The booking covered one night, so they left the next morning.
UsageCounts stays: two nights at a hotel, priced per night or by the night.
Note
Stays are counted this way. Three nights at a friend's house means sleeping there three times, however many daytimes the visit touches. That is why lodging is booked and priced by the night rather than by the day.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Stays can be counted by the number of nights spent at the accommodation. ine.es
Lodging is booked and priced by the night. premierinn.com

Less common meanings

4
bedtime goodbyeinterjectionabbreviationellipsis
Short for good night: said when parting from someone in the evening or before going to sleep.
"Night, everyone," he said, slipping out of the party early.
We hugged at the door and exchanged a quiet "night" before parting.
Note
A clipped farewell that keeps only the parting meaning of the full phrase, said in the evening or at bedtime. The dated, colloquial use of good night to express incredulity belongs to the unshortened form. The clipping is casual and friendly, as in a cheerful "Night, y'all!" at the end of a gathering.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
The farewell night is a clipping of good night. en.wiktionary.org
5
getting darknoununcountable
The onset of darkness at the end of the day; nightfall.
Travelers hurried to find shelter before night came.
Workers headed home as night settled over the city.
UsageNo article: before night, till night, as night fell.
Similardark, darkness, dusk
Oppositedawn, daybreak
6
sleep somewhereverbrareintransitive
To spend a single night somewhere; to stay overnight.
The travelers chose to night in a roadside lodge rather than press on.
So I took seat and ate somewhat of my vivers, my horse also feeding upon his fodder, and we nighted in that spot and next morning I set out[.]
1885, Richard F. Burton, Arabian Nights
Similarstay, lodge, camp, stop
Note
This verb is a regular one, with the forms nighted and nighting, and it takes a place rather than an object. Richard F. Burton's Supplemental Nights (1888) has a prince who "nighted in that spot" with his horse before setting out the next morning. In everyday speech, overnight does the same work, and the verb night now carries a deliberately old-fashioned flavor.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The passage occurs in volume V of Burton's Supplemental Nights, first published in 1888. upload.wikimedia.org
The exact words describe an overnight halt followed by departure the next morning; the speaker is a prince describing himself and his horse. gutenberg.org
7
legal hoursnouncountable
A period often defined in law as beginning 30 minutes after sunset and ending 30 minutes before sunrise.
Under the statute, a burglary committed at night draws a harsher sentence.
The break-in happened twenty minutes after sunset, so in legal terms it was not yet night.
Oppositeday, daytime
Note
Law needs a boundary a court can check, not a sky that dims gradually, so it replaces twilight with a fixed margin around sunset and sunrise. The margin is a usual choice rather than a universal one. The line matters because of its consequences: some offenses, burglary among them, are charged more heavily when they are committed at night.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Law can define night using fixed offsets from sunset and sunrise, including the half-hour boundary described here. gov.uk
The half-hour boundary is not universal: Massachusetts criminal law uses one-hour offsets. malegislature.gov
Committing burglary at night can result in a more serious charge and greater punishment. ujs.sd.gov
8
dark bluenoununcountable
A deep, dark shade of blue, also called midnight blue.
Similarnavy, midnight

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of night apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This comes from Middle English "night" and Old English "niht," from Proto-Germanic *nahts and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts, all meaning "night." It is related to words like German "Nacht," Dutch "nacht," Greek "nýchta," Russian "nočʹ," and Latin "nox."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

Night descends through Middle English and Old English niht from Proto-Germanic *nahts and Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts, meaning night. en.wiktionary.org
German Nacht is related to English night through shared ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch nacht is related to English night through shared ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
Greek νύχτα, transliterated nýchta, is related to English night through shared Indo-European ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
Russian ночь, transliterated nočʹ, is related to English night through shared Indo-European ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
Latin nox is related to English night through shared Indo-European ancestry. en.wiktionary.org