night owl

noun

Synonyms of night owlnext
: a person who keeps late hours at night

Synonyms of night owl

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of night owl in a Sentence

a night owl whose spouse is more of an early bird
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Researchers have found that trying to force a morning person into a late-night brainstorming session is a recipe for disaster—the same goes for night owls being expected to be at their best first thing. — Aytekin Tank, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Even for a night owl like me, standard time is the better option. — Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2026 Research also shows morning or afternoon exercise can shift your sleep schedule earlier, a useful trick for night owls trying to sleep sooner. — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2026 One study found that while two-thirds of the general population claim to be night owls, their chances of success are much slimmer than those of morning people. — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 15 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for night owl

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of night owl was in 1594

Rhymes for night owl

See All Rhymes for night owl

Browse Nearby Words

night out
night owl
night parrot
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Night owl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/night%20owl. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

night owl

noun
: a person who usually stays up late at night

More from Merriam-Webster on night owl

Nglish: Translation of night owl for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of colloquial

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All