nightly
/ˈnaɪtli/adjective, adverb, noun
nightly is spelled N-I-G-H-T-L-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, nightly means “Happening or appearing in the night; night-time; nocturnal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nightly?
| Letters | 7: N-I-G-H-T-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.0 times per million words; the 15,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nightly?
Nightly appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nightly?
- /ˈnaɪtli/
Nightly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nightly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with nightly
Sounds like: knightly (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of nightly
- nightlies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nightly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Happening or appearing in the night; night-time; nocturnal.
nightly dews
- 2
Performing, occurring, or taking place every night.
The dog demanded to go out for his nightly walk.
- 3
Used in the night.
adverb
- 1
Every night.
He checks his email nightly.
noun
- 1
A build of a software program with the latest changes, released every night.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nightly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | nocturno , cada noche |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nightly come from?
From Middle English nyȝtly, nihtlich, nihtlic, from Old English nihtlīċ, nihtelīċ (“nocturnal, nightly, of the night, at night”), equivalent to night + -ly. Cognate with Scots nichtlie (“nightly”), West Frisian nachtlik (“nightly, nocturnal”), Dutch nachtelijk (“nightly, nocturnal”), German nächtlich (“nocturnal, nightly”), Danish natlig (“nightly”), Swedish nattlig (“nightly, nocturnal”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).