tonight

1 of 2

adverb

to·​night tə-ˈnīt How to pronounce tonight (audio)
: on this present night or the night following this present day
will do it tonight

tonight

2 of 2

noun

: the present night or the night following this present day

Examples of tonight in a Sentence

Adverb This afternoon I'm busy, but tonight I'm free. Noun Tonight's party should be fun. He is staying until tonight.
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.
Noun
Sure, there have been distractions around the LSU football program tied to the rostering of former professional athletes who had sued the SEC, but none of that will matter once the ball is finally kicked off tonight. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026 Among those in the audience to watch the film tonight were Chloé Zhao, Amanda Seyfried, Mona Fastvold and Pattinson’s partner Suki Waterhouse. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2026 It’s long ceased to be a neighborhood that puts on airs, an attitude that liberates us all tonight. — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026 On the forecast track, the center of Edouard is forecast to reach the northwestern Gulf Coast within the warning area later today and move inland over southeast Texas tonight. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tonight

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tonight was before the 12th century

Rhymes for tonight

See All Rhymes for tonight

Browse Nearby Words

tonify
tonight
Tonikan
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tonight.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tonight. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

tonight

1 of 2 adverb
to·​night tə-ˈnīt How to pronounce tonight (audio)
: on this present night or the night following this present day

tonight

2 of 2 noun
: the present or the coming night
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 gist

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All