burn the midnight oil

idiom/bɜːrn ðə ˈmɪdnaɪt ɔɪl/ 🔊 listen

Burn the midnight oil means to work or study late into the night. The phrase comes from the days before electricity, when people burned oil lamps to keep working after dark.

📖 Meanings

1to work or study late into the night
"I burned the midnight oil to finish the report on time." — I stayed up very late to finish the report on time.
2to stay up late to get something done
"Students often burn the midnight oil before exams." — Students often stay up late working before exams.

🔄 Related phrases

work late into the night →pull an all-nighter →stay up working →

💬 Common patterns

burn the midnight oilburning the midnight oilhad to burn the midnight oil
❓ How do you say you worked late into the night?