past bedtime

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   Later than the usual time when someone, especially a child, should go to bed.

   Grammar: Used after a verb like be, stay, or get: It's past bedtime. No article before 'bedtime' in this phrase.

   Patterns

   • be past bedtime
   • stay up past bedtime
   • get past bedtime

   It's past bedtime, so turn off the TV and go upstairs.

   The children stayed up past bedtime to watch the fireworks.

   I didn't realize it was past bedtime until I heard the clock strike eleven.

2. 2phrasefixed phrasehumorous

   Too late at night for something to happen or continue, often used humorously for adults.

   Grammar: Often used in a lighthearted way about adults who are tired or should be resting.

   Patterns

   • be past bedtime
   • way past bedtime

   It's way past bedtime for me; I'm going to turn in.

   We finished the meeting at midnight, which is past bedtime for most of us.

Common combinations

way past bedtime

It's way past bedtime; you should have been asleep an hour ago.

stay up past bedtime

On New Year's Eve, the kids are allowed to stay up past bedtime.

get past bedtime

Don't let the party get past bedtime for the little ones.

long past bedtime

By the time we got home, it was long past bedtime.

Synonyms and how they differ

late

Use 'late' to describe any time after the expected one, but 'past bedtime' specifically means later than the time someone should go to bed.

after hours

This means after the normal working hours of a business, not after a person's bedtime.

Opposites

Commonly confused: past bedtime or bedtime?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “past bedtime”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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