Dictionary

burn the midnight oil en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Originally referring to the act of burning lamp oil in oil lamps for light at night. The collocation midnight oil in its literal sense is attested from mid 17th c.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To work studiously, especially late into the night.
   • Near-synonym: pull an all-nighter
   • He was burning the midnight oil to finish his paper.
   • She was burning the midnight oil to finish her part of the project.
   • You worked at whatever task you were engaged in — churning out steel nuts for the car companies or churning out essays in college — until you were done, even if you had to burn the midnight oil. No excuses, no whining, no cheating. 2013, Phil Cousineau, Burning the Midnight Oil: Illuminating Words for the Long Night's Journey Into Day, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

Forms

Relateds

candlewasting · burn the candle at both ends

Synonyms

pull an all-nighter · elucubrate

Translations (39)

he לילה לבן (work through the night) · de die Nacht zum Tage machen (work through the night) · sv dygna (work through the night) · nl tot laat in de nacht werken (work through the night) · es hacer días y noches (work through the night) · ga déan airneán (work through the night) · hu éjjel-nappal tanul (work through the night) · pt virar a noite (work through the night) · fr travailler tard le soir (work through the night) · fr bûcher (work through the night) · cmn 開夜車 /开夜车 (work through the night) · cs pracovat dnem i nocí (work through the night) · es quemarse las pestañas (work through the night) · sv låta flitens lampa lysa (work through the night) · fi valvoa yötä myöten (work through the night) · pl pracować do późnej nocy (work through the night) · pt passar a noite em claro (work through the night) · cs ponocovat (work through the night) · cmn 挑燈夜戰 /挑灯夜战 (work through the night) · lv strādāt pa naktīm (work through the night) · ar أشعل فانوس الليل (work through the night) · sk pracovať vo dne v noci (work through the night) · cs pracovat dlouho do noci (work through the night) · de bis spät in die Nacht arbeiten (work through the night) · sk pracovať dlho do noci (work through the night) · it fare le ore piccole (work through the night) · ca cremar-se les celles (work through the night) · pt fazer uma direta (work through the night) · it passare la notte in bianco (work through the night) · hu éjszakázik (work through the night) · tl magsunog ng kilay (work through the night) · fr faire nuit blanche (work through the night) · hu késő éjszakáig tanul (work through the night) · cmn 焚膏繼晷 /焚膏继晷 (work through the night) · nl het nachtje doordoen (work through the night) · ja 徹夜する (work through the night) · la lūcūbrō (work through the night) · ru полуно́чничать (work through the night) · ru засиж́иваться (work through the night)