night owl

Thân thiện

A student who is a night owl reads a book under a lamp.

Definition

Noun: A person who habitually stays awake and is active late into the night; someone whose energy or productivity peaks during nighttime hours.

Usage

This term describes a person's natural or preferred sleep-wake pattern (chronotype). It is the opposite of an "early bird." It is often used in a neutral or slightly admiring way to describe someone who enjoys or functions best during late hours.

Examples

• Noun:
  • As a night owl, she does her best work after midnight.
  • The city is full of night owls who frequent the 24-hour cafes.
  • I'm not a morning person at all; I'm a total night owl.

Advanced Usage

• Cultural Connotation: The term often implies creativity, introspection, or a non-conformist streak associated with nighttime activity.
• Scientific Context: In chronobiology, a "night owl" is someone with a delayed sleep phase, meaning their internal body clock runs later than the societal norm.

Variants and Related Words

• Night person (n): A synonym for night owl.
• Nocturnal (adj): Of or relating to the night. While animals are described as nocturnal, calling a person "nocturnal" is a more formal or humorous synonym for "night owl."

Synonyms

• Late-night person
• Nighthawk (informal)

Antonyms

• Early bird
• Morning person
• Lark (informal)

Related Idioms

• Burn the midnight oil: To work or study late into the night.
  • The night owls in the office were burning the midnight oil to finish the project.
• Up with the owls: To be awake very late.
  • He's always up with the owls, reading or working on his computer.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a person who likes to be active late at night

Từ đồng nghĩa

• nighthawk
• nightbird