Definition of 'evening'

Word Frequency

evening

(iːvnɪŋ )

Word forms: plural evenings

variable noun

The evening is the part of each day between the end of the afternoon and the time when you go to bed.

All he did that evening was sit around the flat.

Supper is from 5.00 to 6.00 in the evening.

Towards evening the carnival entered its final stage.

Synonyms: dusk [archaic], night, sunset, twilight More Synonyms of evening

Video: pronunciation of
evening

evening in British English

(ˈiːvnɪŋ )

noun

the latter part of the day, esp from late afternoon until nightfall

the latter or concluding period

the evening of one's life

the early part of the night spent in a specified way

an evening at the theatre

an entertainment, meeting, or reception held in the early part of the night

5. Southern US and British dialect

the period between noon and sunset

6. (modifier)

of, used, or occurring in the evening

the evening papers

Word origin

Old English ǣfnung; related to Old Frisian ēvend, Old High German āband

Word Frequency

evening in American English

(ˈivnɪŋ )

noun

the last part of the day; close of the day and early part of night; period between sunset or the last meal of the day and bedtime

in some parts of the South, in rural areas, and in parts of England, the period from noon through sunset and twilight

the last period, as of life, a career, etc.

a part of the night spent in a specified way

a musical evening

adjective

of, in, or for the evening

Word origin

ME < OE æfnung, verbal n. < æfnian, to grow toward evening < æfen, evening, akin to Ger abend, prob. < IE base *epi-, *opi-, after, later (> Gr epi, L ob): basic sense “later part of the day”

Word Frequency

evening in American English

(ˈivnɪŋ)

noun

the latter part of the day and early part of the night

the period from sunset to bedtime

He spent the evenings reading

3. (chiefly in Midland and Southern US)

the time between noon and sunset, including the afternoon and twilight

any concluding or declining period

the evening of life

an evening's reception or entertainment

Their evenings at home were attended by the socially prominent

adjective

of or pertaining to evening

The evening sky shone with stars

occurring or seen in the evening

the evening mist

Word origin

[bef. 1000; ME; OE ǣfnung, equiv. to ǣfn(ian) draw toward evening + -ung n. suffix]

Examples of 'evening' in a sentence
evening

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Malone suddenly determined there would be no further talk this evening of domestics.There were quite a few people around, for a Monday evening.For the third consecutive evening, the six ate in silence under Aída's watch.

Quotations

It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a nun,
Breathless with adorationWilliam WordsworthIt is a Beauteous Evening

The curfew tolls the knell of passing dayThomas GrayElegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Let us go then, you and I
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a tableT.S. EliotLove Song of J. Alfred Prufrock