in the afternoon
prep. phr..prep. phr.. The part of the day after lunch but before the evening starts.
prep. phr.. A prepositional phrase functioning as a temporal adverbial, indicating the period of the day between noon and evening.
We play in the park in the afternoon.
The meeting is scheduled for three o'clock in the afternoon, so we have the morning free.
Sunlight filtering through the west-facing windows in the afternoon cast long, dramatic shadows across the polished floorboards of the old library.
Used with the preposition 'in', just like 'in the morning' and 'in the evening'.
Contrast 'in the afternoon' with 'at noon' and 'at night' to establish the pattern of using 'in the' for general parts of the day.
Let's meet at the afternoon.Let's meet in the afternoon.The correct preposition for parts of the day like 'morning', 'afternoon', and 'evening' is 'in'.