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.

---

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.

---

dawn British  

/ dɔːn /

noun

1. daybreak; sunrise

2. the sky when light first appears in the morning

3. the beginning of something

---

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

---

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

That the sun revolves around the Earth explains dawn but renders astronomy impossible.

From The Wall Street Journal

Guards noticed the two men had fled from the Dijon prison before dawn.

From Barron's

It dawned on Mr Thompson that some of the advertised jobs simply didn't exist.

From BBC

Sunday dawned hot and clear at Bondi - not a cloud in the sky, the sun shining as the waves crashed onto the sand.

From BBC

A government statement said that prosecutions would be difficult due to the small size of cats and their tendency to be "most active at dawn or dusk".

From BBC

Related Words

• dawning
• daybreak
• daylight
• morning