midnightmid‧night /ˈmɪdnaɪt/ ●●● S3 noun [uncountable] 
The train is due in at midnight.after/before midnight We stayed there until way after midnight. You can’t phone her now – it’s gone midnight (=after midnight)! By the time he arrived, it was well past midnight (=after midnight).at/on the stroke of midnight (=at exactly midnight) The treaty will come into force on the stroke of midnight tonight. He’s gone for a midnight swim. ► Don’t say ‘in the midnight’. If you mean ‘at 12 o’clock at night’ say at midnight and if you mean ‘very late at night’ say in the middle of the night. → burn the midnight oil at burn1(20)
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- The restaurant is open from 5 p.m. to midnight every day.
- We always go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
- About midnight, the first Federal units began withdrawing from the field.
- In other years, he had often felt a great fatigue after the midnight service.
- She forgot it was midnight and this was a respectable couple.
- Sometimes these domino sessions in the canteen would last from 6.30 p.m. until midnight.
- Troops were deployed in Kwangju at midnight on May 17, just as Chun was declaring nationwide martial law.
WORD SETS
AD, advance, verbafter, prepositionafternoon, nounalarm, nounalarm clock, nouna.m., Anno Domini, annual, adjectiveApril, nounAsh Wednesday, nounAug., August, nounautumn, nounautumnal, adjectivebank holiday, nounBC, BCE, biannual, adjectivebicentenary, nounbicentennial, nounbiennial, adjectivebimonthly, adjectivebirthday, nounbiweekly, adjectivebonfire night, nounBoxing Day, nounBritish Summer Time, nounBST, nouncalendar, nouncalendar month, nouncalendar year, nouncarriage clock, nouncentenary, nouncentury, nounChristmas, nounChristmas Day, nounChristmas Eve, nounChristmastime, nounchronograph, nounchronological, adjectivechronometer, nouncircadian, adjectiveclock, nouncrystal, nouncuckoo clock, nouncycle, nouncyclic, adjectivedaily, adjectivedaily, adverbdate, noundate, verbdawn, nounday, nounDec., decade, nounDecember, noundiamond anniversary, noundiamond jubilee, noundinnertime, noundiurnal, adjectived.o.b., due date, noundusk, nounface, nounFather's Day, nounfeast, nounFebruary, nounfortnightly, adjectiveFourth of July, the, Fri., Friday, nounGood Friday, nounGreenwich Mean Time, nounGregorian calendar, nounguy, nounGuy Fawkes Night, nounhalf-hourly, adjectivehalf-yearly, adjectiveHalloween, nounhand, nounHanukkah, nounharvest festival, nounHogmanay, nounhorn, nounhour, nounhourglass, nounhour hand, nounhr, Independence Day, nounJan., January, nounjubilee, nounJuly, nounJune, nounLabor Day, nounleap year, nounlunar month, nounmainspring, nounman-hour, nounMar., March, nounMardi Gras, nounmarket day, nounMaundy Thursday, nounMay, nounMay Day, nounMichaelmas, nounmidday, nounmiddle age, nounmiddle-aged, adjectivemidnight, nounMidsummer Day, nounmidweek, adjectivemillennium, nounmin., minute hand, nounMon., Monday, nounmonth, nounmorn, nounmorning, nounMothering Sunday, nounMother's Day, nounmovable feast, nounnew moon, nounNew Year, nounNew Year's Day, nounNew Year's Eve, nounnight, nounnightfall, nounnighttime, nounnocturnal, adjectiveNoel, nounnoon, nounnoonday, adjectiveNov., November, nounOct., October, nounp.a., Pancake Day, nounPDT, penultimate, adjectiveper annum, adverbper diem, adverbperiodic, adjectivep.m., PST, public holiday, nounquarter, nounquotidian, adjectiveRemembrance Day, nounSat., Saturday, nounschoolday, nounseason, nounsecond, nounsecond hand, nounself-winding, adjectiveSeptember, nounshockproof, adjectivesilver anniversary, nounsilver jubilee, nounsilver wedding anniversary, nounsolar year, nounsolstice, nounspring, nounspringtime, nounstandard time, nounstopwatch, nounsummer, nounsummer solstice, nounsummertime, nounsummery, adjectiveSun., Sunday, nounsundown, nounsunrise, nounsunset, nounsun-up, nountercentenary, nounThanksgiving, nounthirty, numberThursday, nountime, nountime, verbtimepiece, nountimer, nountime signal, nountime warp, nountime zone, nountoday, adverbtoday, nountomorrow, adverbtomorrow, nountonight, adverbtonight, nountriennial, adjectiveTuesday, nountwilight, nounWed., Wednesday, nounweek, nounweekday, nounweekend, nounweekly, adjectiveweeknight, nounWhit, nounWhitsun, nounwinter, nounwintertime, nounwk., wristwatch, nounyear, nounyesterday, adverbyr., Yule, nounYuletide, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY You can’t phone her now – it’s gone midnight (=after midnight)! By the time he arrived, it was well past midnight (=after midnight). Will I see you at morning Mass?COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
You can’t phone her now – it’s gone midnight (=after midnight)! By the time he arrived, it was well past midnight (=after midnight). (=at exactly midnight) The treaty will come into force on the stroke of midnight tonight.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The treaty will come into force on the stroke of midnight tonight. Will I see you at morning Mass?· It is past midnight in down town Tegucigalpa, and it's time to go home.· It was past midnight when Lisa came in.· It fills us with a deep warmth that will last past midnight.· After a long time she looked at her bedside clock and saw that it was past midnight.· When they got to St-Jean it was only a little past midnight and the cafes were still open.· I couldn't reach the road by half past midnight.· The last train was half past midnight.· It was late, past midnight.
NOUN· Let's have a midnight feast tonight, she said: a secret party.· Big Ronnie was up and about and having a midnight feast.· When it is time to eat, pretend it is a midnight feast and have the food in one of the bedrooms.
· It's useful if people feel ill during services or if I want to rest before midnight Mass.· Apparently, Clare was able to watch midnight mass from her death-bed, though many walls should have made this impossible.· The main celebrations were the midnight mass, the Christmas eve supper and the crib building competition.· Then there are charades, cards and midnight mass at Sandringham church.· Tonight she will attend the midnight mass in the tiny church in Great Brington.
· Wilson had until midnight Monday to sign or veto everything sent to him by the Legislature last session.
· Ingrid and other loyal friends spent long hours burning the midnight oil with her when it came to the final typing.· Grading students for their individual exams and individual term papers may reward a certain kind of midnight oil burning.· Five worlds split into several sections is certainly enough to keep you burning the midnight oil.
· Camping high, between the huts, we enjoyed insect-freeing breezes and spectacular night views of the midnight sun.· The best time to visit is in June, the time of the midnight sun.· It was the first time that I had experienced the midnight sun.
· Chapman caught the midnight train to Plymouth and the deal was settled.· And by the time we got the all clear, the midnight train had gone, too.· The midnight train to Cornwall, silently waiting.· There was the 9.15 and the 10.07, and the midnight train that sometimes woke them from their dreams.
VERB· Although he arrived around midnight, the streets were lined with thousands who cheered and waved as his limousine sped by.· The passenger and freight vessel will leave Shetland at 11am on Saturday, arriving at Bergen at midnight.· Never again would the Galway mail arrive there in its midnight glory.
· The alert began shortly after midnight.· The executions began at midnight on Saturday and were completed six and a half hours later.
· Ingrid and other loyal friends spent long hours burning the midnight oil with her when it came to the final typing.· Five worlds split into several sections is certainly enough to keep you burning the midnight oil.
· The offer expired at midnight yesterday as scheduled.· The bills would replace a temporary spending bill that expires at midnight Friday.
· I had gone to bed about midnight.· He seldom went to bed before midnight, and then often read the plays of Corneille till 2 a.m.· Campaign meetings went until midnight every night for a month.· You actually go on after midnight.· Williams told police she went home alone at midnight, an hour and a half before the shooting.· The ban went into effect at midnight, Aug. 25, 1988, Higgins said.
· Deputies came in at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday and left at about midnight.· On one such passage we left Stornoway at midnight heading for Lochinver in Sutherland.· Often, delayed by the cleaning up, she did not leave the premises until midnight.
· At half-past eleven the house was so quiet they decided not to wait until midnight.· When the power arrived at last on November 16, the mayor waited until shortly after midnight before pulling the switch.· Back at the Barracks Maxim had to wait until after midnight before he had the officers' mess video machine to himself.· Or had the guests waited until midnight, the witching hour, before turning into swine?
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► the midnight sun► this side of Christmas/midnight etc
- Lawmakers were burning the midnight oil last night, as the debate continued.
- Five worlds split into several sections is certainly enough to keep you burning the midnight oil.
- Ingrid and other loyal friends spent long hours burning the midnight oil with her when it came to the final typing.
WORD FAMILYnounnightmidnightnightieadjectivenightlyovernightadverbovernightnightly
12 o’clock at nightat midnight The train is due in at midnight.after/before midnight We stayed there until way after midnight. You can’t phone her now – it’s gone midnight (=after midnight)! By the time he arrived, it was well past midnight (=after midnight).at/on the stroke of midnight (=at exactly midnight) The treaty will come into force on the stroke of midnight tonight. He’s gone for a midnight swim. ► Don’t say ‘in the midnight’. If you mean ‘at 12 o’clock at night’ say at midnight and if you mean ‘very late at night’ say in the middle of the night. → burn the midnight oil at burn1(20)