Phrase guide

midnight sun

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmɪdnʌɪt sʌn/
  • General-American: /ˈmɪdˌnaɪt sʌn/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The phenomenon occurring when the Sun does not set but only approaches the horizon at midnight; it occurs near the summer solstice in the polar regions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the sun visible at midnight (inside the Arctic or Antarctic Circles)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: atmospheric phenomenon

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: sol de mitjanit — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Chinese Cantonese: 白夜 (baak6 je6) — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Chinese Mandarin: 白夜 (báiyè) — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Danish: midnatssol — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Dutch: middernachtzon — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Estonian: keskööpäike — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Finnish: keskiyön aurinko — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Finnish: yötön yö — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • French: soleil de minuit — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Galician: sol de media noite — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Georgian: შუაღამის მზე (šuaɣamis mze) — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • German: Mitternachtssonne — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Greek: ήλιος του μεσονυκτίου (ílios tou mesonyktíou) — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Icelandic: miðnætursól — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Ingrian: poljarnoi päivä — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Japanese: 白夜 — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Korean: 백야 (baegya) — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Norwegian Bokmål: midnattssol — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: midnattssol — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Polish: dzień polarny — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Portuguese: sol da meia-noite — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Romanian: nopți albe — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Russian: полуно́чное со́лнце (polunóčnoje sólnce) — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Northern Sami: gaskaijabeaivváš — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Spanish: sol de medianoche — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Swedish: midnattssol — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set
  • Volapük: zeneitasol — phenomenon occurring when Sun does not set