dusk

¹ American  

[duhsk] / dʌsk /

noun

1. the state or period of partial darkness between day and night; the dark part of twilight.

2. partial darkness; shade; gloom.

   She was barely visible in the dusk of the room.

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dusk ² American  

[duhsk] / dʌsk /

adjective

1. tending to darkness; dark.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become dusk; darken.

dusk British  

/ dʌsk /

noun

1. twilight or the darker part of twilight

2. poetic gloom; shade

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adjective

1. poetic shady; gloomy

verb

1. poetic to make or become dark

Other Word Forms

• duskish adjective

Etymology

Origin of dusk¹

First recorded in 1615–25; back formation from dusky

Origin of dusk¹

before 1000; Middle English duske (adj.), dusken (v.); metathetic alteration of Old English dox dusky, doxian to turn dark; cognate with L. fuscus dark

Example Sentences

A surge in cases among migrant workers at a quarry site in Mandera last year led authorities to restrict movement at dusk and dawn when sandflies are most active.

From Barron's

The very next day, as day turned to dusk out on the lake, I waited till it was almost time to head back to shore.

From Literature

I wait a long time with my face upturned toward the sky, and when at last I give up, dusk is settling over the mountains.

From Literature

“A black cloud billowed fast from the south, a thousand feet above the trees. It quickly pulled overhead, and the day grew dim like approaching dusk. It had to be the mountain.”

From Literature

Ahead of him, emerging from the wood in the dusk like a cluster of ambulant stars, came a herd of unicorns.

From Literature

Related Words

• nightfall
• sundown
• sunset
• twilight