# night

/ˈnaɪt/ (US) · /nˈaɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/night
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 2. an evening event

noun · CEFR A2

an evening spent doing a particular activity or attending an event.

For teachers: a period of time during the evening dedicated to a specific social activity or professional event.

- We are having a movie night at my house this Friday.
- The university is hosting a careers night to help graduating students network with potential employers in the tech sector.

### 3. darkness

noun · CEFR B2 · Literary

the state of being dark, especially when the sun has gone down.

For teachers: the quality or state of darkness associated with the absence of sunlight.

- The thief disappeared into the night before the police arrived.
- The ancient forest was swallowed by the approaching night, leaving the hikers to rely entirely on their headlamps.

### 5. to stay overnight

verb · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Dialect

to stay or sleep somewhere for the night.

For teachers: to spend the night at a specific location; to overnight.

- The travellers decided to night in a small village before continuing their journey.
- In the old tales, the knight would night at any hospitable cottage he found along the forest path.

Usage: This verb is intransitive and rarely used in modern standard English.

## Examples

- The stars look beautiful at night.
- We stayed up late into the night talking about our plans for the summer holiday.
- The city takes on a completely different character at night, as the harsh concrete of the business district is softened by the glow of neon signs and streetlights.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.