midnight
English · Thesaurus
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midnight
- /ˈmɪd(ˌ)naɪt/
- [ˈmɪd̚naɪt] UK
- [ˈmɪd̚(ˌ)nɑjt] British, Southern, Standard
- [ˈmɪ̞d̚nʌjt] British, Southern, Standard
- [ˈmɪd̚ˌnɐɪt] US
- [ˈmɪ̞d̚nəjt] Canada
- [ˈmɪ̝d̚(ˌ)nɑɪt] Australia
Rhymes with -ɪdnʌɪt, -ɪdnaɪt
Where it comes from
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”).
noun midnights
- The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise. Thanks to its sonar, the narwhal can remain active even at midnight, unhindered by the darkness.
- Twelve o'clock at night exactly. She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good! / She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood! / They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years, / Till, now, on the stroke of midnight, / Cold, on the stroke of midnight, / The t
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Synonym of boxcars (“a pair of sixes”).
Similar: boxcars
Similar: 00:00, 12 o'clock, 12 midnight, 12 a.m., 24:00, dead of night, midnight, noon, noon of night · Opposite: midday
adjective
- Utterly dark or black. Free and falling, his midnight hair flowed out all around us like a silk canopy.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: noon, evening, night, middle, mid, north, twelve, abyss, marine, marino, mid-, midnight hour, witching hour, pitch-dark, zero hour, wee hours
noun
Similar: 00:00, 12 o'clock, 12 midnight, 12 a.m., 24:00, dead of night, midnight, noon, noon of night · Opposite: midday
Translations
Every language
noun middle of the night
| Español | medianoche, madrugada |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 한밤중 hanbamjung, 한밤 hanbam, 야밤 yabam, 밤중 bamjung, 반야 banya, 심야 simya |
| 日本語 | 夜半 yahan, 真夜中 mayonaka, 子夜 shiya |
| 中文 | 三更, 夜半 yèbàn, 夜半三更 yèbànsāngēng, 三更半夜, 黑更半夜, 半夜三更 |
| हिन्दी | आधी रात ādhī rāt, आधीरात ādhīrāt, अधरात adhrāt, मध्यरात madhyarāt, मध्यरात्रि madhyarātri |
| Français | minuit |
| Deutsch | Mitternacht |
| Italiano | mezzanotte |
| Ελληνικά | μεσάνυχτα mesánychta |
| Русский | по́лночь pólnočʹ |
| العربية | مُنْتَصَف لَيْل muntaṣaf layl, مُنْتَصَف اللَّيْل muntaṣaf al-layl |
noun 12 o'clock at night exactly — see also twelve o'clock
| Español | medianoche |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 자정 jajeong, 밤 열두시 bam yeoldu-si, 밤 12시 bam 12-si |
| 日本語 | 夜半 yahan, 真夜中 mayonaka, 子夜 shiya, 正子 shōshi |
| 中文 | 半夜 bànyè, 子夜 zǐyè, 午夜 wǔyè |
| हिन्दी | आधी रात ādhī rāt, आधीरात ādhīrāt, अधरात adhrāt, मध्यरात madhyarāt, मध्यरात्रि madhyarātri |
| Português | meia-noite |
| Français | minuit |
| Deutsch | Mitternacht |
| Italiano | mezzanotte |
| Ελληνικά | μεσάνυχτα mesánychta |
| Română | miezul nopții, miez de noapte, mijloc de noapte |
| Русский | по́лночь pólnočʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | nửa đêm, đêm |
| العربية | مُنْتَصَف اَللَّيْل muntaṣaf al-layl |
| עברית | חֲצוֹת הַלַּיְלָה khatsòt-haláyla, חֲצוֹת khatsót |
Talk about this word "midnight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/midnight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. midnight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/midnight "midnight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/midnight.Cite this
@misc{midnight_2026,
title = {midnight},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/midnight},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
