Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tonight

/təˈnaɪt/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.03 in modern English

Syllables: tonight
IPA: /təˈnaɪt/

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

During the night following the current day; during the evening of today.

adv

Obsolete

noun

The nighttime of the current day or date; this night.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"I want to party tonight!"
"I had a wonderful time with you tonight."
"I had a dreadful nightmare last night; I hope I sleep better tonight."
"Besides, I met Lord Bigot and Lord Salisbury, With eyes as red as new-enkindled fire, And others more, going to seek the grave Of Arthur, whom they say is killed to-night On your suggestion."
"I dreamt tonight that I did feast with Caesar, And things unluckily charge my fantasy;"
"Tonight is the night."

Etymology

From Middle English tonyght, to niȝt, from Old English tō niht.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: tonyght, tō niht

Usage

Inflected Forms

to-night (alternative) to-nite (alternative) tonite (alternative) t'night (alternative) tonights (plural)

Phrases

target for tonight

Synonyms

this evening this night

Rhymes With

right might night white light quite fight site non-white write despite flight

Questions

How do you pronounce tonight?: The recorded pronunciation is /təˈnaɪt/.
What does tonight mean?: During the night following the current day; during the evening of today.
Where does tonight come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce tonight

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tonight”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/təˈnaɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tonight”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tonight” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.