afternoon

noun

af·​ter·​noon ˌaf-tər-ˈnün How to pronounce afternoon (audio)
1
: the part of day between noon and sunset
2
: a relatively late period (as of time or life)
in the afternoon of the 19th century
afternoon adjective

Examples of afternoon in a Sentence

morning, afternoon, evening, and night I'll see you again tomorrow afternoon. It was early afternoon when I left. She spent the afternoon at the library. I remember the many rainy afternoons I spent reading at the library. She doesn't have class on Friday afternoons. It took us all afternoon to get there. It's going to be a long afternoon listening to lectures.
Recent Examples on the Web The third group was instructed to perform an interesting and engaging imagery task, such as creating or remembering a meadow, a waterfall, a holiday or a summer afternoon in the sun. Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024 The man, who has not been publicly identified, was cleaning out sediment inside the City of Blair water tank on the afternoon of March 23, the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 24 Mar. 2024 After a storybook first chapter last weekend, when the expansion team pulled off a stunning 1-0 win over Angel City FC in the franchise’s first game, Bay FC ran into trouble before ever touching a soccer ball on Saturday afternoon. Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024 Authorities said the fatal victim was a 21-year-old man and the brother of an 18-year-old who had called for help Saturday afternoon. Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 24 Mar. 2024 This all occurred on a spring day in which the blue sky of morning gave way increasingly to the dim gray overcast of afternoon. Martin Weil, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2024 The 24th edition of Ultra kicked off Friday afternoon in Bayfront Park. David Catanese, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2024 Light east wind becoming southeast at 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 22 Mar. 2024 Over a dozen pro-Palestine demonstrators were arrested at the Russell Senate Office Building on Thursday afternoon. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 22 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'afternoon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English afternone, from after- after- + none noon

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of afternoon was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near afternoon

Cite this Entry

“Afternoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afternoon. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

afternoon

noun
af·​ter·​noon ˌaf-tər-ˈnün How to pronounce afternoon (audio)
: the part of day between noon and sunset
afternoon adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on afternoon

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