daybreak; sunrise
the sky when light first appears in the morning
the beginning of something
to begin to grow light after the night
to begin to develop, appear, or expand
to begin to become apparent (to)
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
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As dawn broke black plumes of smoke rose over Russia's second city, where Vladimir Putin is due to address the financial event on Friday.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
Farmers arrived at dawn with tomatoes, gourds, chillies, lemons and melons.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Below, the Matachel River ran smooth in the silent dawn.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
The best times to encounter them are at dawn or dusk, when most tourists are sleeping or sipping caipirinhas.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
AT dawn we break into the open from thick, dark forest and are treated to a spectacular sight.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
