dawn
noun
the first appearance of daylight in the morning.
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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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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 2
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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:
Daylight saving time officially comes to a close before dawn Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 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
It was just before dawn in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and the congregation were arriving for the Friday service at the tiny La Lomita Catholic Chapel.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 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
AT dawn we break into the open from thick, dark forest and are treated to a spectacular sight.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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
Dawn Dale, the trust's community development manager, said the Echo project was named to reflect its aim of giving items a second life through reuse.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Healey will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday when Dawn, Jessica and the rest of us will hear what he might do to ease the squeeze.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Dawn Gratz and Jon Corbett hauled their bikes there on a trailer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
“We can drive you to Helena if you want,” Dawn Celeste says, reading her mind.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
They also suggest that the disinflation earlier this year may have been another of the false dawns that have typified recent Fed performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
It dawns on him that he’s in a new, bizarre, just-for-him reality, and he won’t see daylight until he can spot the anomalies in each go-round.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
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
As another Grand Slam season dawns, many players still believe they are undervalued and denied a voice in key decisions made by the major championships.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
And maybe the dawns will be less harrowing in that country for which I shortly depart.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Eddie Hearn choked up mid-sentence during the final news conference when it dawned on him this was the last time he would experience a Taylor fight week.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
And if Snead was going to win himself a championship, it dawned on him that everything that had carried the Rams to this point would have to change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Suddenly, they referred to me as they used to refer to my father. Something dawned upon me: that I was the king now.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Then it dawned on her the ring could have been in the box with her Vinted order.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
The terrible truth dawned on me by moonlight.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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
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
It even overwhelms his dawning understanding of Venice’s spreading cholera outbreak, as he concludes he would rather stay on vacation than save the boy—or himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
The dawning of reality should be close at hand now for England players - 'maybe it's not you, Scotland, maybe it's us'.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
“No,” Percy muttered, light dawning in his eyes.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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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.
