dawn

¹ American  

[dawn] / dɔn /

noun

1. the first appearance of daylight in the morning.

   Dawn broke over the valley.

   Synonyms:

   sunrise, daybreak

   Antonyms:

   sunset

2. the beginning or rise of anything; advent.

   the dawn of civilization.

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verb (used without object)

1. to begin to grow light in the morning.

   The day dawned with a cloudless sky.

2. to begin to open or develop.

3. to begin to be perceived (usually followed byon ).

   The idea dawned on him.

   Synonyms:

   break, occur, appear

Dawn ² American  

[dawn] / dɔn /

noun

1. a female given name.

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dawn British  

/ dɔːn /

noun

1. daybreak; sunrise

2. the sky when light first appears in the morning

3. the beginning of something

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verb

1. to begin to grow light after the night

2. to begin to develop, appear, or expand

3. to begin to become apparent (to)

dawn Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing dawn

• crack of dawn
• light dawned

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Other Word Forms

• dawnlike adjective
• undawned adjective

Etymology

Origin of dawn

First recorded before 1150; Middle English dawen (verb), Old English dagian, derivative of dæg day; akin to Old Norse daga, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German dagen, Old High German tagēn

Example Sentences

Her eyes get big and her brows go up-up-up, and I know a new thought is dawning on her.

From Literature

Very, very early on Friday morning, May 16—just before dawn—a plane made nine passes over Mount St. Helens.

From Literature

The slowly dawning realization that this heavily tattooed white man named Teddy Swims was really going to pull off “Without You.”

From Los Angeles Times

Page Six, citing a fire department spokesman, reported that O'Hara was rushed to hospital before dawn from her home in the swanky Brentwood area of Los Angeles.

From Barron's

The romantic idea of an insight that suddenly dawns is misleading.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dawning
• daybreak
• daylight
• morning