night /nīt/

1. The end of the day, evening
2. (the period of) time from sunset to sunrise
3. The dark part of the 24-hour day
4. Darkness
5. Obscurity, ignorance, evil, affliction or sorrow (figurative)
6. Death (euphemistic)
7. The activity or experience of a night
8. A night set apart for some purpose, eg receiving visitors

1. Belonging to night
2. Occurring or done in the night
3. Working or on duty at night

nightˈed adjective

1. Benighted
2. Darkened, clouded (Shakespeare)

nightie noun see nighty below

nightˈless adjective

Having no night

nightˈlong adjective and adverb

Lasting all night

nightˈly adjective

1. Done or happening by night or every night
2. Dark as night (Shakespeare)

1. By night
2. Every night

nights adverb (orig genitive of n; informal)

At or by night

nightˈward adjective

Occurring towards night

nightˈy or nightˈie noun (informal)

A nightgown

night air noun

1. The air at night
2. A peculiarly unwholesome gas, formerly imagined by some to circulate at night

nightˈ-ape noun

A bushbaby

nightˈ-attire noun

Garments worn in bed

nightˈ-bell noun

A doorbell for use at night, esp at a hotel

nightˈbird noun

1. A bird that flies or sings at night
2. A person who is active or about at night

nightˈ-blind adjective

nightˈ-blindness noun

Inability to see in a dim light, nyctalopia

night-blooming cereus noun

A cereus with flowers that open at night

nightˈ-brawler noun

A person who causes disturbances in the night

nightˈcap noun

1. A cap worn at night in bed
2. A drink, esp an alcoholic or hot one, taken before going to bed
3. The last event of the day, esp the second of a pair of consecutive baseball games or the last horse race of the day (esp N Am inf)

nightˈ-cart noun (historical)

A cart used to remove the contents of outside lavatories before daylight

nightˈ-cellar noun (archaic)

A disreputable resort or tavern, open at night

nightˈ-chair noun

A night-stool

nightˈ-churr noun

The nightjar, so called from its cry

nightˈclass noun

A class at night school

nightˈclothes plural noun

Garments worn in bed

nightˈ-cloud noun

Stratus

nightˈclub noun

A club for drinking, dancing, etc, open between evening and morning

nightˈclubber noun

nightˈclubbing noun

night crawler noun

A large earthworm which comes to the surface at night, used as bait for fishing

nightˈ-crow noun (Shakespeare)

An undefined bird of ill omen that cries in the night

nightˈ-dog noun (Shakespeare)

A dog that hunts in the night

nightˈdress noun

1. Clothes, esp a woman's or child's loose dresslike garment, for sleeping in
2. A nightgown

night duty noun

Work or duty done at night

nightˈfall noun

1. The onset or beginning of the night
2. The close of the day
3. Evening

nightˈfaring adjective

Travelling by night

night fighter noun

A fighter plane equipped for interception at night

nightˈfire noun

1. A fire burning in the night
2. A will-o'-the-wisp

nightˈ-fishˈery noun

A mode or place of fishing by night

nightˈ-flower noun

A flower that opens by night

nightˈ-flowˈering adjective

nightˈ-fly noun

A moth or fly that is active at night

nightˈ-flyˈing adjective

Flying by night (also noun)

nightˈ-foe noun

Someone who attacks by night

nightˈ-fossˈicker noun (Aust)

Someone who rummages around at night for gold, etc in a mine or other working

nightˈ-founˈdered adjective (Milton)

Lost in the night

nightˈ-fowl noun

A night-bird

nightˈgear noun

Nightclothes

nightˈ-glass noun

A small hand-held telescope with concentrating lenses for use at night

nightˈgown noun

1. A loose robe for sleeping in, for men or women
2. A dressing-gown (obsolete)

nightˈ-hag noun

A witch supposed to be about at night

nightˈhawk noun

1. An American nightjar, genus Chordeiles
2. A European nightjar
3. A person more active at night

night heron noun

A heron of nocturnal habit, of various kinds

nightˈ-house noun (obsolete)

A tavern open during the night

nightˈ-hunter noun

Someone who hunts, poaches or prowls about the streets for prey by night

nightˈjar noun

Any European nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, related to the swift family

night latch noun

A door-lock worked by a key from outside and a knob from inside

night letter noun (N American)

Formerly, a telegram sent overnight, and so at a cheaper rate

nightˈlife noun

Activity in the form of entertainments at night

nightˈ-light noun

1. A lamp or candle that gives a subdued light all night
2. The faint light of the night
3. The light of phosphorescent sea animals

nightˈ-line noun

A fishing-line set overnight

nightˈ-man noun

A night-watchman, night-worker or scavenger by night

nightˈmare noun

1. (OE mære, ME mare the nightmare incubus; cf OHGer mara incubus, ON mara nightmare) an unpleasant dream
2. A horrifying or difficult experience
3. A dream accompanied by pressure on the breast and a feeling of powerlessness to move or speak, personified as an incubus or evil spirit

nightˈmarish or (rare) nightˈmary adjective

nightˈmarishly adverb

nightˈmarishness noun

night nurse noun

A nurse on duty during the night

night out noun

1. A festive night away from home, work and responsibilities
2. A domestic, or other, servant's night off work

night owl noun

1. An exclusively nocturnal owl
2. A person who sits up very late, or one who is habitually more active, alert, etc at night than during the day (informal)

nightˈ-palˈsy noun (archaic)

A numbness of the legs occurring on waking in the morning and passing off quickly

nightˈpiece noun

1. A picture or literary or musical description of a night-scene
2. A painting to be seen by artificial light

night-porˈter noun

A porter in attendance during the night

nightˈ-rail noun (historical)

A loose wrap or dressing-jacket

nightˈ-ravˈen noun (Shakespeare)

A bird that cries at night, supposed to be of ill omen

nightˈ-rest noun

The repose of the night

nightˈrider noun (US)

1. A member of a secret band of usu white men who carried out lynchings, etc of black people and black sympathizers, esp in the Southern USA after the Civil War
2. A member of the Ku Klux Klan

nightˈ-robe noun

1. A nightgown
2. A dressing-gown

nightˈ-rule noun (Shakespeare)

A revel at night

night safe noun

A safe in the outside wall of a bank, in which customers can deposit money when the bank is closed

night school noun

Classes held at night for people who have left school, esp for those at work during the day

night-seaˈson noun

The night-time

night shift noun

1. A gang or group of workers that takes its turn at night
2. The period for which it is on duty
3. A nightdress (archaic)

nightˈshirt noun

A shirt for sleeping in

nightˈ-shriek noun

A cry in the night

• sphendones
• sphene
• sphenes
• sphenic
• Sphenisciformes
• Spheniscus
• Sphenodon
• Sphenodons
• sphenogram
• sphenograms
• sphenoid
• sphenoidal
• sphenoids
• spheral
• sphere
• sphere-born
• sphered
• sphereless
• spherelike
• sphere of influence
• spheres
• spheric
• spherical
• spherical aberration
• spherical aberrations