midnight
gb/mˈɪdnˌaɪt/ us/mˈɪdnˌaɪt/
A2
Inglês
~ 5600
Acepções
0 acepção
Substantivo
A2
quantity
1
12 o’clock at night
The time at 12:00 at night, when one day ends and the next day begins.
Padrão de uso:
[something] happens at midnight
Erro comum:
Learners often say *in midnight* or *on midnight* instead of the correct preposition *at midnight*. Also, some learners confuse 12 a.m. and 12 p.m.; in most English-speaking contexts, 12 a.m. is midnight and 12 p.m. is noon.
Sinônimos
twelve o’clock at night (More explicit and slightly longer; commonly used in careful or formal speech to avoid confusion.)
|
12 a.m. (Numeric time reference; common in written schedules and timetables.)
Antônimos
noon (Refers to 12:00 in the daytime, the opposite middle point of the day.)
|
midday (Another way to say noon, contrasting with the middle of the night.)
Colocações
at midnight
|before midnight
|after midnight
|around midnight
|past midnight
|the stroke of midnight
Temas
time
|daily_life
|scheduling
|core_vocabulary
Exemplos
- The train leaves exactly at midnight, so don’t be late.
- We finally reached home just before midnight.
- The deadline is midnight on Friday, not Saturday.
- Fireworks lit up the sky at the stroke of midnight.
- She woke up at midnight because of a loud noise.
Exemplos para estudantes
- I usually go to bed before midnight.
- The New Year starts at midnight on January first.
- He finished his homework at midnight.
- The store closes at midnight on Saturdays.
- The movie starts at midnight tonight.
adjective
B1
relation
2
happening at midnight
Happening at 12:00 at night or very late at night; used before a noun.
Padrão de uso:
a midnight [event]
Erro comum:
Learners sometimes say *a snack at midnight* when they want the set phrase *a midnight snack*. Both are correct, but *midnight snack* is a very common fixed expression. Remember that *midnight* comes before the noun and has no article in this use (say *a midnight train*, not *a the midnight train*).
Sinônimos
late-night (Broader and less exact; can refer to any time late at night, not only around midnight.)
Antônimos
daytime (Describes events that happen during the day instead of at midnight.)
|
early-evening (Suggests an event happens earlier in the night, not at or near midnight.)
Colocações
midnight snack
|midnight movie
|midnight flight
|midnight meeting
|midnight shift
|midnight call
Temas
time
|daily_life
|scheduling
|core_vocabulary
Exemplos
- We ordered a midnight snack after studying for hours.
- She caught a midnight flight to New York.
- He works the midnight shift at the hospital.
- They went to a special midnight screening of the new movie.
- I got a midnight phone call with surprising news.
Exemplos para estudantes
- We had a small midnight snack in the kitchen.
- My brother likes to watch a midnight movie on Fridays.
- He often takes a midnight bus home from work.
- She is tired because she works a midnight shift.
- They planned a midnight meeting to finish the project.
Substantivo
literary
B2
state
3
deep darkness of night
Very dark night with almost no light, described in a poetic or dramatic way.
Padrão de uso:
the midnight of [a place/situation]
Erro comum:
Learners may assume this poetic sense is common in everyday conversation. In normal speech, *midnight* almost always means the time (12:00 at night), not a general idea of darkness.
Sinônimos
pitch-darkness (Focuses only on the lack of light and is more plainly descriptive, less poetic than *midnight* in this sense.)
Antônimos
broad daylight (Describes full, bright light during the day, opposite to deep night darkness.)
Colocações
in the midnight
|midnight silence
|midnight darkness
|the midnight of the room
Temas
literature
|nature
|emotions
|time
|core_vocabulary
Exemplos
- The village lay in silent midnight after the storm passed.
- She felt as if she were walking through midnight, even at noon.
- The forest was wrapped in midnight, broken only by the call of an owl.
- He stared into the midnight of the empty, unlit room.
Exemplos para estudantes
- The writer describes the city as midnight and very quiet.
- In the story, the hero walks through midnight in the forest.
- The room was like midnight when we turned off all the lights.
- The poet compares his sadness to midnight in his heart.
Gramática
Expressões
after midnight
1/ˈæftɚ mˈɪdnˌaɪt/
fixed phrase
later than midnight
At a time later than 12:00 at night.
Exemplos
- The bar stays open long after midnight on weekends.
- I don’t like walking home alone after midnight.
around midnight
1/ɚˈaʊnd mˈɪdnˌaɪt/
fixed phrase
approximately at midnight
At a time close to 12:00 at night, not exactly that time.
Exemplos
- The noise started around midnight and went on for an hour.
- We usually finish cleaning the restaurant around midnight.
at midnight
1/ˈæt mˈɪdnˌaɪt/
fixed phrase
at 12 o’clock at night
At the time 12:00 at night, when one day ends and the next day starts.
Exemplos
- The lights go out at midnight every day.
- We’ll make the announcement at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
before midnight
1/bɪfˈɔɹ mˈɪdnˌaɪt/
fixed phrase
earlier than midnight
At a time earlier than 12:00 at night.
Exemplos
- Please return the car before midnight.
- She wants to be in bed before midnight on work nights.
midnight hour
1/mˈɪdnˌaɪt ˈaʊɚ/
fixed phrase
literary
dramatic time around midnight
The time at or around midnight, spoken about in a dramatic or poetic way.
Exemplos
- In the midnight hour, the streets finally fell quiet.
- The singer’s voice rose powerfully in the midnight hour.
midnight mass
1/mˈɪdnˌaɪt mˈæs/
fixed phrase
church service at midnight
A Christian church service that is held at or around midnight, especially on Christmas Eve.
Exemplos
- They go to midnight mass every Christmas Eve.
- The church was full for the midnight mass service.
midnight sun
1/mˈɪdnˌaɪt sˈʌn/
fixed phrase
technical
sun visible at local midnight
A natural event in the far north or south where the sun can still be seen at local midnight in summer.
Exemplos
- Tourists visit northern Norway to see the midnight sun.
- The midnight sun makes it hard to sleep because it never gets dark.
midnight train
1/mˈɪdnˌaɪt tɹˈeɪn/
fixed phrase
train at about midnight
A train that leaves or arrives at about 12:00 at night.
Exemplos
- We caught the midnight train to the city to save on hotel costs.
- There’s a midnight train if you want to travel after work.
past midnight
1/pˈæst mˈɪdnˌaɪt/
fixed phrase
a bit after midnight
At a time a little or some time after 12:00 at night.
Exemplos
- It was well past midnight when we finally left the office.
- The streets were still busy past midnight.
the stroke of midnight
1/ðə stɹˈoʊk əv mˈɪdnˌaɪt/
fixed phrase
literary
the exact instant of midnight
The exact moment when a clock reaches 12:00 at night.
Exemplos
- At the stroke of midnight, fireworks filled the sky.
- The contract ends at the stroke of midnight on December 31st.
midnight snack
1/mˈɪdnˌaɪt snˈæk/
fixed phrase
small meal at midnight
A small amount of food that you eat at or around midnight.
Exemplos
- I had a quick midnight snack before going back to bed.
- He sneaked into the kitchen for a midnight snack.
- He loves making a midnight snack when he watches movies late.
- Cookies and milk are her favorite midnight snack.
burn the midnight oil
1/bˈɚn ðə mˈɪdnˌaɪt ˈɔɪl/
idiom
Work late into the night
To work late at night, usually studying or working on something important.
Exemplos
- She’s been burning the midnight oil preparing for her exams.
- She burned the midnight oil to finish her thesis.
- He had to burn the midnight oil to finish the report.
- We had to burn the midnight oil to meet the deadline.
- They've been burning the midnight oil preparing for the big presentation.
- She burned the midnight oil studying for her exams.
burn the midnight oil
2/bˈɚn ðə mˈɪdnˌaɪt ˈɔɪl/
idiom
work or study very late
To work or study until very late at night, especially past midnight.
Exemplos
- She had to burn the midnight oil to finish her thesis.
- We’ve been burning the midnight oil all week to meet the deadline.