dusk

¹

[duhsk]

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.

dusk

²

[duhsk]

adjective

1. tending to darkness; dark.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become dusk; darken.

dusk

/ dʌsk /

noun

1. twilight or the darker part of twilight

2. poetic,  gloom; shade

adjective

1. poetic,  shady; gloomy

verb

1. poetic,  to make or become dark

Other Word Forms

• duskish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dusk¹

First recorded in 1615–25; back formation from dusky

Origin of dusk²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dusk¹

Old English dox; related to Old Saxon dosan brown, Old High German tusin yellow, Norwegian dusmen misty, Latin fuscus dark brown

Example Sentences

Also avoiding areas at dawn or dusk when mosquitoes congregate is key to avoid getting bitten.

From Los Angeles Times

OREM, Utah — As dusk settled Thursday evening, people bowed their heads in prayer at a city park, struggling to comprehend all that had played out over the last 36 hours.

From Los Angeles Times

The wind signals that dusk is coming – and that soon, there will be no light.

From BBC

These kids get mad at each other for taking too long to return a Bose speaker and then immediately dial it up to 100 at an outdoor cafe, before longboarding away into the Manhattan dusk.

From Salon

From the pit’s edge, the edge of a hospital garment peeked out, fluttering erratically in the dusk breeze.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• nightfall 
• sundown 
• sunset 
• twilight