ENGLISH
REFERENCE

night owl

idiom
Meaning

One who goes to bed late, or stays up late at night or in the early hours of the morning.


Origin

disputed origin

From night + owl, from the fact that the bird is active at night.

Examples
SIMPLE

My roommate is a night owl who never sleeps before midnight.

CONTEXTUAL

Being a night owl, she does her best work after everyone else has gone to bed.

COMPLEX

The novelist, a lifelong night owl, would write until dawn broke over the silent city streets.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bank night

    An event where patrons are enticed to buy entry tickets into some venue, for example a movie theater, with the anticipation that they will be entered into a drawing to win an amount of money if their ticket is drawn and they are on-site at the time of the winning.

  2. 02

    bring owls to Athens

    To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical.

  3. 03

    call it a night

    To go to bed to sleep.

  4. 04

    call it an early night

    To go to bed or cease one's activities earlier in the evening than usual.

  5. 05

    creature of the night

    A prostitute.

  6. 06

    day or night

    At any time; 24/7

  7. 07

    dead of night

    Middle of the night.

  8. 08

    make a night of it

    To continue a pleasurable social activity for the whole evening or night.

Last updated April 17, 2026