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.

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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.

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dawn British  

/ dɔːn /

noun

1. daybreak; sunrise

2. the sky when light first appears in the morning

3. the beginning of something

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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

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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

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.

Example Sentences

The vice-president spoke of the "core goal" of the US during his brief dawn news conference.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

Greenpeace activists scaled a monument in front of Congress at dawn on Wednesday and unfurled a banner urging lawmakers "not to betray the Argentine people."

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Jordan says when she was 4 she got up at the crack of dawn every day and put in a VHS tape of a ballet class that her mother, Mary Lim, had bought.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

I’ve already witnessed the dawn of high-speed internet, the iPhone and generative AI.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

I can picture all of this: three generations of laughing Theos, downing mugs of coffee and biscuits, storming out garrulously into the dawn, wearing wool hunting hats and surrounded by baleful golden retrievers.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• dawning
• daybreak
• daylight
• morning