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midnight snack

midnight snack

9 1.4
A small light meal eaten late at night, often around midnight
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪdˌnaɪt snæk/
: tentempié de medianoche
  • Now I’m hungry for a midnight snack
  • prepare a midnight snack
  • go for a midnight snack
  • a little midnight snack

You know, normally I wouldn't have a midnight snack, but I just gave a good presentation.

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Examples

  • Unable to sleep, Elena visits the kitchen for a little midnight snack.

    Blog text (25)
  • Come on, a midnight snack turned into a push up competition.

  • And it's amazing as a midnight snack right before bed.

  • It's time for our midnight snack.

  • What if someone wants a midnight snack?

  • Looking for a midnight snack?

  • A midnight snack might be just the thing .

  • I had a midnight snack that disagreed with me.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Juan's mother prepared a midnight snack for the fiesteros.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • It's time for our midnight snack before watching the movie.

Synonyms

bite to eat
vsmidnight snack
  • Informal
37 1.8

A small quick meal or snack

is eaten late at night typically around twelve oclock

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

The first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning

How Filling

meal
∞ 1.0
midnight snack
9 1.4
snack
471 1.0
bite
302 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

midnight + snack

The meaning 'a small meal eaten around midnight' is directly and transparently composed from 'midnight' (the middle of the night) and 'snack' (a light informal meal). This is a straightforward, literal combination common across languages and predictable for a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase midnight snack creates a simple picture: midnight is the late hour and a snack is a small bite of food. It comes from the common habit of getting up around midnight to eat something small, so it means 'a small meal eaten late at night'.