Tonight

Tonight is a time reference in English, indicating the evening of the current day or the upcoming evening, depending on the context. It functions as an adverb and, in phrases like “tonight’s game,” also as a noun representing that evening. The word derives from Old English to niht, literally “to night,” and has remained stable in modern English as a simple, widely used temporal marker.

In everyday use, people refer to plans, events, or performances scheduled for the night in question. It is common in news, entertainment, and conversational speech, as in “What are you doing tonight?” or “tonight’s concert.”

In popular culture, “Tonight” is a prolific title for creative works. The best-known example is the song “Tonight” from the musical West Side Story, where it is performed as a romantic ballad about reuniting lovers. The title has also been used for other songs, films, and television episodes, often signaling drama, anticipation, or romance. A related form, “Tonight, Tonight,” is the title of a 1995 single by the Smashing Pumpkins. The phrase also appears in the names of talk shows and news programs that focus on evening broadcasting, such as The Tonight Show, one of the longest-running late-night programs in American television.