Midnight is the moment when one day ends and the next begins, exactly twelve hours after noon. When the clock strikes midnight, it shows 12:00 AM, marking the transition from night to morning even though it's still dark outside.

Midnight falls right in the middle of the nighttime hours. If the sun sets around 6 PM and rises around 6 AM, midnight sits perfectly in between.

Midnight carries a special feeling in stories and real life. Cinderella's magic ended at midnight. New Year's Eve celebrations reach their peak at the stroke of midnight. The phrase burning the midnight oil means staying up very late working or studying, from the days when people used oil lamps to see after dark.

You might hear someone say they have a midnight snack when they eat something late at night, or describe something as midnight blue, a color so dark it resembles the night sky. When something happens at the midnight hour, it means right at 12:00 AM, often suggesting mystery or importance.