noon

noun

ˈnün 

1

: midday

specifically : 12 o'clock at midday

2

archaic : midnight

—used chiefly in the phrase noon of night

3

: the highest point

Synonyms

• high noon
• lunch time
• midday
• noonday
• noontide
• noontime

Examples of noon in a Sentence

The party will take place from noon to 4 p.m.

He showed up at precisely 12 noon.

Recent Examples on the Web

The chance of rainfall starts to pick up Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and the time of highest rain intensity is expected between Sunday afternoon through Monday at noon for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2025

Shop Brandon Blackwood’s Valentine’s Day collection on the brand’s website starting Friday, January 24 at noon. —Essence, 24 Jan. 2025

Central time and the next statement on the flooding at the Angelina River will be issued Friday at noon Central time. —Rachel Dobkin, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025

Ahead of the January Monthly Meeting — being live-streamed on Thursday at noon ET — Coterra’s advance has put the stock in 26th place out of the entire S & P 500 in 2025. —Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English nōn ninth hour from sunrise, from Latin nona, from feminine of nonus ninth; akin to Latin novem nine — more at nine

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing noon

• high noon
• morning, noon, and night
• pre-noon

Kids Definition

noon

noun

ˈnün 

: the middle of the day : 12 o'clock in the daytime

noon adjective

Etymology

Old English nōn "ninth hour from sunrise," derived from Latin nona, a feminine form of nonus "ninth," from novem "nine"

Word Origin

Noon has not always meant "12 o'clock in the daytime." In the ancient Roman way of keeping track of time, the hours of the day were counted from sunrise to sunset. The ninth hour of their day (about 3 p.m. nowadays) was called nona, Latin for "ninth." In the early period of English, the word was borrowed as nōn, also referring to the ninth hour after sunrise. By the 14th century, however, the word came to be used for midday, 12 o'clock, as we use it today.