dawn
noun
the first appearance of daylight in the morning.
dawn
1 American
[dawn]
/ dɔn /
noun
-
dawns
plural
verb (used without object)
-
dawns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dawned,
past participle, past
-
dawning
present participle
Dawn
2
American
[dawn]
/ dɔn /
noun
dawn
British
/ dɔːn /
noun
-
daybreak; sunrise
-
the sky when light first appears in the morning
-
the beginning of something
verb
-
to begin to grow light after the night
-
to begin to develop, appear, or expand
-
to begin to become apparent (to)
dawn
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dawnsimple
-
dawnssimple
-
have dawnedperfect
-
has dawnedperfect
-
am dawningprogressive
-
are dawningprogressive
-
is dawningprogressive
-
have been dawningperfect progressive
-
has been dawningperfect progressive
Past
-
dawnedsimple
-
had dawnedperfect
-
was dawningprogressive
-
were dawningprogressive
-
had been dawningperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
The noun dawn refers to the first light of day, or the first time period, like the dawn of a new era, which occurs when a new president takes office. Not just the beginning of a day, the noun dawn can refer to any beginning, like the dawn of the Internet era. As a verb, dawn can mean "become light" or "become clear," like when it dawns on you that you left an important paper at home today. In that case, you can suddenly see what you did wrong, like at the dawn of a new day, when it is no longer dark and you can see, literally.
Vocabulary lists containing dawn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It may dawn on you that this heroic artifact is a vulnerable, handmade thing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Lobsterman Steve Train starts every workday before dawn about $1,000 in the hole, a hike in expenses driven by soaring fuel costs that are hammering Maine's flagship maritime industry ahead of US midterm elections.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
King says she gets the energy to wake up before dawn and go out at least a couple of nights every week from her natural joie de vivre.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The full extent of the damage did not become clear until dawn broke on Sunday.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
It was dawn, and the wind had dropped.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Along with Abrams, Dawn Greenberg, a 63-year-old Conley supporter, and several other women showed up at Saturday’s rally with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Peekskill with T-shirts and buttons referencing Conley’s line.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
Columnist Dawn Gilbertson looks at why airlines’ promises of fast Wi-Fi and other upgrades take so long to come to fruition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
The interest rate on their Ipswich home loan could rise from 1.4% to about 5.3%, which, Dawn says, could add "about £250 extra a month just for living in the same property".
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Among their teammates at college was Dawn Staley, the Hall of Famer and Olympian who coaches the University of South Carolina.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Honey, Montana,” Dawn Celeste says, as if this is some sort of answer.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
In some sense, this is akin to the realization that dawns on most people regarding their parents: Before we came along, they had a whole identity that had nothing to do with us.
From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2026
The romantic idea of an insight that suddenly dawns is misleading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Investors burned by false dawns in China’s property market are reluctant to reprice assets without unmistakable signals.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
"There have been so many false dawns for us so there is surprise and delight at today's news."
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2025
It dawns on you again that you’re hungry.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
“It dawned on me: The moment has come,” she later recalled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"I don't think it's dawned on us it's really ours," says Conroy, a video editor.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
When the 20th century dawned, nearly all of Asia was under the colonial boot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
But the moment it dawned on Mitch that his kid brother would “play on Sundays” was when Justin threw for 489 yards as a true freshman in a 54-35 win over Arizona State.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
And something dawned on her: Kiyoshi had no such choices.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
A sizable portion of the generation born after World War II imagined a new age was dawning in the Golden State.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Graham Burnett, a history professor at Princeton University, sees "the dawning of an authentic movement," similar to the birth of the environmental movement in the 1960s, which led to landmark environmental protections.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
This might be a dawning moment, when the golfing world realises that someone capable of winning a record-equalling 82 PGA Tour titles might not be the best qualified to shape its future.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
It’s dawning on both the equity and bond markets that this conflict isn’t looking like a fleeting affair, said Amar Reganti, fixed-income strategist at Hartford Funds.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
Maybe it was dawning on her what everyone else knew: Will Thompson wasn’t loyal to anyone but himself.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
