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

It is a pastoral place where drivers watch for Amish buggies at dusk and a Union soldier monument anchors the town square.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We arrived back at the convent at dusk," she recalls.

From BBC

When in the woods people are advised to make noise, to attach bells to bags, and not to hike alone -- especially at dusk and dawn.

From Barron's

By Sunday morning rain will have moved into Northern Ireland and will then progress eastwards to all but East Anglia and southeast England by dusk.

From BBC

Even in normal times, the national park's dizzying heights and picturesque remote valleys are irresistible to enthusiasts, who make clandestine jumps at dawn or dusk.

From Barron's

Related Words

• nightfall
• sundown
• sunset
• twilight