noon

NOON/nuːn/

Pluralnoons

6 meanings of noon

1
nouncountable or uncountable
Twelve o'clock in the daytime, the middle of the day, when the sun is high in the sky.
Like the exact middle of the daytime, halfway between morning and evening.
We will eat lunch at noon today.
By noon the streets were crowded and the shops were busy.
UsageSay at noon, with no the.
Similarmidday
Oppositemidnight
Note
2
peaknounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
The highest or best point that something reaches.
Like the top of a hill, the highest part before things start to go down.
She reached the noon of her career when she became head of the company.
The empire was at its noon, rich and powerful and feared.
UsageSay the noon of a life or career.
Similarpeak, height, zenith, prime, pinnacle
Oppositenadir
Note
3
midnightnounarchaiccountable or uncountable
Midnight, the dark middle of the night.
The bells rang at the noon of night, and the dark streets lay silent.
They kept watch until the noon of night, the darkest and quietest hour.
UsageSay the noon of night.
Note

Less common meanings

4
nounobsoletecountable or uncountable
About three o'clock in the afternoon, the ninth hour after sunrise.
Note
5
noun
A letter in the Arabic alphabet, written ن.
6
verbdated
To rest or sleep in the middle of the day.
They nooned at a spring and squatted about the cold and blackened sticks of some former fire and ate cold beans and tortillas out of a newspaper.
1992, Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

Practice

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Origin

From Latin nona, meaning the "ninth hour." It came into English through Old English non.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Noon ultimately derives from Latin nona in the expression meaning ninth hour. en.wikipedia.org
The word passed into English through Old English non. en.wiktionary.org