daylight

[dey-lahyt]

noun

1. the light of day.

   At the end of the tunnel they could see daylight.

2. public knowledge or awareness; openness.

   The newspaper article brought the scandal out into the daylight.

3. the period of day; daytime.

4. daybreak; dawn.

5. a clear space or gap, especially between two people or things that should be close together, as between the knees of a horseback rider and a saddle.

6. disagreement or mental distance between two people.

   There's very little daylight between the two senators' stances on the issue.

7. Informal.,  daylights, mental soundness, consciousness, or wits: I'd like to beat/knock the daylights out of him!

   The noise scared the daylights out of us.

   I'd like to beat/knock the daylights out of him!

adjective

1. Photography.,  of, relating to, or being film made for exposure by the natural light of day.

verb (used with object)

daylighted, daylit, daylighting. 

1. to suffuse (an interior space) with artificial light or with daylight filtered through translucent materials, as roofing panels.

daylight

/ ˈdeɪˌlaɪt /

noun

1. 1. light from the sun

   2. ( as modifier )

      daylight film

2. the period when it is light; daytime

3. daybreak

4. 1. to understand something previously obscure

   2. to realize that the end of a difficult task is approaching

Other Word Forms

• predaylight noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of daylight¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; day , light ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. see daylight, to progress to a point where completion of a difficult task seems possible or probable.

More idioms and phrases containing daylight

• beat the living daylights out of
• begin to see daylight
• in broad daylight
• let daylight through
• scare out of one's wits (the living daylights out of)

Example Sentences

The first session in Singapore is not representative of conditions later in the weekend as it is run in daylight in late afternoon, while qualifying and the race are held after dark.

From BBC

Inside, skylights cut into the rounded ceiling suggest a fuselage bathed in daylight.

From Los Angeles Times

"The continuing brainwashing of 'you can only play in this way', up until recently scared the living daylights out of coaches, particularly young coaches," he says.

From BBC

Secret police filming soon caught Andrews Jr doing brazen Class A drug deals in broad daylight and handing over more than £100,000 at a time in supermarket carrier bags.

From BBC

By the end of November, we will have lost around five to six hours of daylight on average compared to the end of August.

From BBC

Related Words

• dawn 
• daytime 
• sunlight 
• sunshine