night owl



night owl

A person who prefers to be awake late at night. In my younger days, I was quite a night owl and would often stay up until sunrise.
See also: night, owl

night owl

Fig. someone who stays up at night; someone who works at night. My roommate is a night owl and usually reads until 5:00 A.M. A few night owls stayed at the café all night long.
See also: night, owl

night owl

A person who habitually stays up late and is active at night, as in You can call her after midnight, for she's a night owl. This colloquial term, originally used in the late 1500s for an owl that is active at night, was transferred to nocturnal human beings in the mid-1800s.
See also: night, owl

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Annie['æni]
Horatiohə-RAY-shee-o, hə-RAY-shoEnglish
Meirit-Hebrew
Pelageyapye-lah-GYE-yah, pee-lah-GYE-yahRussian
Radka-Czech, Bulgarian
AdelaideAD-ə-layd (English), ah-de-LIE-de (Italian), ə-də-LIED (Portuguese)English, Italian, Portuguese