call it a night

/kɔːl ɪt ə naɪt/

phrase★Intermediate

◆ What It Really Means

To decide to end an activity or event for the day and go to sleep or leave.

¶ Literal Meaning

To make a phone call to something referred to as 'it' and name it 'a night'.

Literal Breakdown

callto make a phone call+itan unspecified object or thing+a nightthe period of darkness between sunset and sunrise

◇ Mental Image

The mental image of someone deciding to stop an activity and go to bed or leave, as if the 'night' is being called to signal the end of the day.

◈ When to Use

After a long day of work, you might say to your colleagues, 'I think I'll call it a night and head home.'

◉ Cultural Note

This phrase is commonly used in English-speaking cultures to indicate that someone is ready to end an activity and rest.

informal

To decide to end an activity or event for the day and go to sleep or leave.

After a long day at work, I decided to call it a night and go home.

When the party got too loud, we called it a night and left early.

💡

This phrase is commonly used to indicate that someone is ready to stop an activity and rest.

Synonyms

call it a dayphrase

To stop working or doing an activity for the day.

Use 'call it a night' when you want to indicate that you're ready to end an activity and go to sleep or leave.

The phrase likely originated from the idea of ending a day's activities and retiring for the night.

This phrase is informal and commonly used in casual conversation to indicate that someone is ready to stop an activity and rest.

call

to decide or declare

verb

the activity or event

pronoun

a night

the time to rest or sleep

noun phrase

English Dictionary