good night
68
1.0
- noun
- /ɡʊd naɪt/
- You have a good night now, you hear.
- say good night
- a good night kiss
- thank you and good night
Examples
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Um, now it's nearly time to say good night, darling.
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You ladies have a good night.
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So good night and I will talk to you tomorrow.
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Oh, so good night, and I hope you enjoyed today.
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But, Mom, I always tell him good night!
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Oh, I should say good night.
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Have a good night, gentlemen.
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When he had turned to leave, she said, "Good night, Tanner."
Fiction book (1993) -
Have a good night.
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As the party came to an end, she turned to her friends and said, "Good night, everyone!"
Synonyms
747
1.0
Words people say when they leave each other
397
1.1
A friendly informal way to say goodbye when leaving
194
1.9
A speech or action that says goodbye and wishes someone well
156
1.0
To wish someone a good night before they go to sleep
68
6.0
A friendly short phrase to say to someone before they go to sleep
23
6.3
Wish someone a nice day or a good time as a friendly goodbye
13
8.1
A friendly way to say good night to someone before sleep, often to children
4
9.1
The time when a child goes to bed to sleep
2
4.4
Words or actions people use when they leave each other
1
8.2
A casual way to say goodbye at the end of the day
How Friendly
- Informal
46
1.4
- Baby Talk
13
8.1
- Baby Talk
2
8.4
- Literature
1
8.4
68
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'good night' is directly compositional: 'good' modifies 'night' to express a wish for a pleasant night, which naturally yields a farewell/goodwish meaning for bedtime. This pattern is frequent across languages (e.g. buenas noches, bonne nuit) and follows a standard adjective+noun wishing construction, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Good night may come from an older wish like 'God give you a good night.' The words good and night simply mean a 'pleasant night', and people used the short phrase when leaving someone in the evening, so it became a polite way to say 'goodbye' at night.