nighttime

See also: night-time

English

Alternative forms

• night time, night-time

Etymology

From Middle English nyght tyme, nyȝttyme, equivalent to night +‎ time. Compare Dutch nachttijd, German Nachtzeit, Danish nattetid, Swedish nattetid. Compare also Middle English nyȝter tyme (“nighttime”), from Old Norse náttartími, nætrtími (“nighttime”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnaɪtˌtaɪm/, [ˈnaɪʔtaɪm]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

nighttime (countable and uncountable, plural nighttimes)

1. The hours of darkness between sunset and sunrise; the night.
   • 1986, R.E.M., “Hyena”, in Lifes Rich Pageant:

     Nighttime fell like the opening / In the final act of the beginning of time

   • 1996, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, volume 50, number 7, page 52:

     Smith Barney, for example, goes so far as to shift the hours during which taxi rides home are expensable as nighttime lengthens and shortens, says Moszkowski.

Synonyms

• nightertale, nighttide; see also Thesaurus:nighttime

Antonyms

• day, daytime; see also Thesaurus:daytime

Derived terms

• nighttime diaper
• nighttime nappy
• night-times

Translations

hours of darkness

• Arabic: لَيْلُ (ar) m (laylu)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܠܲܝܠܹܐ m (layle)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 夜裡 / 夜里 (zh) (yèli), 夜間 / 夜间 (zh) (yèjiān)

• Czech: noc (cs) f, noční doba f
• Finnish: yö (fi), yöaika (fi)
• French: nuit (fr) f
• German: Nacht (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: νύξ f (núx)

• Interlingua: nocte (ia)
• Japanese: 夜間 (ja) (やかん, yakan), 夜分 (ja) (やぶん, yabun)
• Maranao: kagagawi'i
• Norwegian: natt (no) m or f
• Persian: شب‌هنگام (šab-hengâm)
• Polish: noc (pl) f
• Portuguese: noite (pt) f
• Russian: ночь (ru) f (nočʹ), ночно́е вре́мя n (nočnóje vrémja)
• Swedish: natt (sv) c, nattetid (sv) c
• Turkish: gece (tr)

Adjective

nighttime (not comparable)

1. Pertaining to nighttime; appropriate to the night.
2. Happening during the night.
   • 2008 January 11, “What to put between you and burglars”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Discourage nighttime prowlers by installing motion-sensitive lights.

Synonyms

• (pertaining to nighttime): night
• (happening during the night): night, nocturnal

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “pertaining to nighttime”): day, daytime
• (antonym(s) of “happening during the night”): daytime, diurnal

Translations

pertaining to nighttime, appropriate to the night

• Czech: noční (cs)
• Esperanto: nokta
• Greek:

  Ancient: νυκτερινός (nukterinós)

• Hungarian: éjszakai (hu), éjjeli (hu)
• Russian: ночно́й (ru) (nočnój)

happening during the night

• Czech: noční (cs)
• Greek:

  Ancient: νυκτερινός (nukterinós)

• Hungarian: éjszakai (hu), éjjeli (hu)
• Russian: ночно́й (ru) (nočnój)