What does nocturnal mean?
Definitions for nocturnal
nɒkˈtɜr nlnoc·tur·nal
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word nocturnal.
Princeton's WordNet
nocturnaladjective
belonging to or active during the night
"nocturnal animals are active at night"; "nocturnal plants have flowers that open at night and close by day"
nocturnaladjective
of or relating to or occurring in the night
"nocturnal darkness"
GCIDE
Nocturnaladjective
Having a habit of seeking food or moving about at night; as, nocturnal birds and insects; raccoons are nocturnal.; -- of animals.
Wiktionary
nocturnaladjective
Primarily active during the night.
nocturnaladjective
Taking place at night.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
NOCTURNALadjective
Nightly.
Etymology: nocturnus, Latin.
From gilded roofs depending lamps display
Nocturnal beams, that emulate the day. Dryden.I beg leave to make you a present of a dream, which may serve to lull your readers ’till such time as you yourself shall gratify the public with any of your nocturnal discoveries. Add.
Nocturnalnoun
An instrument by which observations are made in the night.
That projection of the stars which includes all the stars in our horizon, and therefore reaches to the thirty-eight degree and a half of southern latitude, though its centre is the north pole, gives us a better view of the heavenly bodies as they appear every night to us; and it may serve for a nocturnal, and shew the true hour of the night. Isaac Watts.
Wikipedia
nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing, smell, and specially adapted eyesight. Some animals, such as cats and ferrets, have eyes that can adapt to both low-level and bright day levels of illumination (see metaturnal). Others, such as bushbabies and (some) bats, can function only at night. Many nocturnal creatures including tarsiers and some owls have large eyes in comparison with their body size to compensate for the lower light levels at night. More specifically, they have been found to have a larger cornea relative to their eye size than diurnal creatures to increase their visual sensitivity: in the low-light conditions. Nocturnality helps wasps, such as Apoica flavissima, avoid hunting in intense sunlight. Diurnal animals, including squirrels and songbirds, are active during the daytime. Crepuscular species, such as rabbits, skunks, tigers and hyenas, are often erroneously referred to as nocturnal. Cathemeral species, such as fossas and lions, are active both in the day and at night.
ChatGPT
nocturnal
Nocturnal refers to being active, occurring, or functioning primarily during the night rather than during the day. This characteristic is common in certain animals, plants, and celestial phenomena.
Webster Dictionary
Nocturnaladjective
of, pertaining to, done or occuring in, the night; as, nocturnal darkness, cries, expedition, etc.; -- opposed to diurnal
Nocturnaladjective
having a habit of seeking food or moving about at night; as, nocturnal birds and insects
Nocturnalnoun
an instrument formerly used for taking the altitude of the stars, etc., at sea
Etymology: [L. nocturnalis, nocturnus, fr. nox, noctis, night. See Night, and cf. Nocturn.]
Wikidata
Nocturnal
Nocturnal is the debut album from hip hop duo Heltah Skeltah, consisting of members Rock and Ruck, members of Brooklyn supergroup Boot Camp Clik. It was the first BCC album to feature some outside producers, such as Shawn J. Period and E-Swift.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Nocturnal
nok-tur′nal, adj. pertaining to night: happening by night: nightly.—n. an instrument for observations in the night.—adv. Noctur′nally.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
nocturnal
An instrument chiefly used at sea, to take the altitude or depression of some of the stars about the pole, in order to find the latitude and the hour of the night.
Suggested Resources
nocturnal
Song lyrics by nocturnal -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by nocturnal on the Lyrics.com website.
Entomology
Nocturnal
species that fly or are active at night.
Matched Categories
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of nocturnal in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of nocturnal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Examples of nocturnal in a Sentence
All architecture is great architecture after sunset perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks.
Tigers are notoriously difficult animals to study, they’re nocturnal, they’re secretive, they live in dense forests. And so it is not an exact science, but it is getting better all the time.
Koalas are nocturnal animals, so they are only active at night, and they are arboreal, which means that they live in trees and rely on them for food, shelter and, as we just discovered, also for drinking, koalas actually spend 98% of their lives in trees and the only time they are on the ground is when they are trying to find another tree with a more generous food supply or a mate.
Passive strategies, like new windows or insulation, can be very effective for nocturnal noise exposure, but should really be our last resort, noise that is not produced cannot have effects.
The smell, the nocturnal stillness, the dance of droplets and the moonlight on the road. The perfect sense.
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References
Translations for nocturnal
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- ليليArabic
- nocturnCatalan, Valencian
- nočníCzech
- natligeDanish
- nächtlich, nachtaktivGerman
- νυκτερινός, νυχτιάτικος, νυχτερινός, νυκτόβιοςGreek
- noktaEsperanto
- nocturnoSpanish
- شبانهPersian
- nokturnaalinen, [[yö]]-, öinen, yöllinenFinnish
- nocturneFrench
- [[nacht]]-, nachtlikWestern Frisian
- रात काHindi
- éjszakai, éjjeliHungarian
- գիշերայինArmenian
- nocturneInterlingua
- nokturnalIndonesian
- notturnoItalian
- ליליתHebrew
- 夜行性のJapanese
- ರಾತ್ರಿಯKannada
- 야행성Korean
- naksnīgsLatvian
- ohopōMāori
- nachtelijk, [[nacht]]-Dutch
- nattligNorwegian
- nocnyPolish
- nocturno, noturnoPortuguese
- nocturnRomanian
- ночно́й, ночнойRussian
- nattaktiv, [[natt]]-, [[aktiv]] om [[natten]]Swedish
- இரவுTamil
- నిద్రలోTelugu
- ออกหากินเวลากลางคืนThai
- Gece gündüz, gececil, geceleyin olan, noktürnal, geceye aitTurkish
- нічнийUkrainian
- رات کو جاگنے والےUrdu
- về đêmVietnamese
- 夜行性Chinese
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"nocturnal." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 15 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/nocturnal>.
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