English Explanatory Dictionary

midnight

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise.
  2. Twelve o'clock at night exactly.
  3. Synonym of boxcars (“a pair of sixes”).
adj
  1. Utterly dark or black.

Pronunciation

/ˈmɪd(ˌ)naɪt/ [ˈmɪd̚naɪt] [ˈmɪd̚(ˌ)nɑjt] [ˈmɪ̞d̚nʌjt] [ˈmɪd̚ˌnɐɪt] [ˈmɪ̞d̚nəjt] [ˈmɪ̝d̚(ˌ)nɑɪt] en-us-midnight.ogg

Word forms

midnight midnights

Etymology

From Middle English midnight, from Old English midniht, from Proto-Germanic *midjanahts (“midnight”), equivalent to mid- + night. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Midnoacht (“midnight”), Old High German mittinaht (“midnight”), Danish midnat (“midnight”), Swedish midnatt (“midnight”), Icelandic miðnætti (“midnight”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Middernoacht (“midnight”), Dutch middernacht (“midnight”), German Mitternacht (“midnight”).

Synonyms

00:00 12 o'clock 12 midnight 12 a.m. 24:00 dead of night midnight noon noon of night boxcars

Antonyms

midday noon

Related words

early morning dawn first light postdawn morning afternoon evening dusk night

Derived words

burn the midnight oil midnight appointment midnight blue midnight cactus midnight chow midnight feast midnight horror midnight in a coal mine midnightish midnightly midnight mass midnight movie midnight oil midnight regulation midnight run midnight snack midnight sun postmidnight post-midnight premidnight
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