tonight

tonight — adverb

1. in the period after the sun goes down on the day you are currently in, covering

1.adverbA1
Definition

in the period after the sun goes down on the day you are currently in, covering the evening and night hours.

Example

Sana and her family are coming over for dinner tonight.

collocation: come over for [meal] tonight

The weather report says it will rain tonight.

Common collocations
  • come tonight
  • leave tonight
  • stay tonight
  • return tonight
  • dinner tonight
  • show tonight
Synonyms
  • this evening

    more specific to the early part of the night, before bedtime

  • this night

    less common; used only when referring to the full night period in specific contexts

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

[verb phrase] + tonight

tonight + [clause]

Usage Note

The adverb form is the most common use of 'tonight'. It typically appears at the end of a sentence, but may also come at the beginning for emphasis (e.g., Tonight, everything changes.)

Common Mistakes

I will meet you in tonight.
I will meet you tonight.
'tonight' as an adverb does not need a preposition before it.
I will see you this night.
I will see you tonight.
'tonight' is the standard word for the current evening or night; 'this night' sounds unnatural in most contexts.

tonight — noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

'Tonight' (adverb) is the default choice for saying when something will happen — it covers both the evening and the full night period of the current day. 'This evening' is narrower, referring specifically to the hours after sunset but before late night (roughly 6–10 p.m.). Use 'this evening' when you want to be more precise about the earlier part. The noun form of 'tonight' works as a subject (Tonight is warm) or an object (I am waiting for tonight), while the adverb modifies the whole sentence. 'Tonight's' is the possessive form of the noun, used before events and conditions (tonight's show, tonight's weather). In conversation: 'I'm cooking dinner tonight' (adverb, natural); 'Tonight will be fun' (noun subject); 'Did you see tonight's news?' (possessive).

tonight ↗this eveningtonight'stonight (noun)

Common collocations

Nouns

  • tonight's weather
  • tonight's show
  • tonight's game

Phrases

  • tonight or tomorrow
  • from tonight on
  • later tonight

Prepositions

  • for tonight
  • until tonight
  • since tonight
  • by tonight

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Tonight' comes from Old English 'toniht', a combination of 'to' (at) and 'niht' (night). The word has been used as a single unit since before the year 1000, originally meaning 'at this coming night'. Unlike many time words that changed form over the centuries, 'tonight' has stayed remarkably stable — its modern spelling and meaning are almost identical to the original compound.