rhizoverbBeta
DictionarynightfallOnset of evening darkness
noun

nightfall

NYTE-fawl/ˈnaɪtfɔːl/

The time when darkness begins in the evening.

At nightfall, the village windows glow beneath the first stars.

Quiet village at dusk with last orange horizon fading into deep blue and first stars, lit windows, no words.
Etymology
nightOld Englishnight, darkness
+fallEnglishcoming on of night

Night combines with fall in its sense of “coming on”: darkness is pictured as falling. The compound names the transition into night, rather than the whole dark period.

In context

The Rest Is History18:58
They can never finish them off completely before nightfall. And actually all night the Spanish kind of hunker down slightly
The Biggest Ever Gold Heist | Fall of the Incas EP 4

More examples

  • They reached camp before nightfall.
  • The search continued until nightfall.
  • A chill arrived with nightfall.

Forms

nightfall

Similar words

dusk
The fading light before complete darkness.
evening
A broader period that includes time before darkness.