sundown

[suhn-doun]

noun

1. sunset, especially the time of sunset.

verb (used without object)

1. Psychiatry.,  (especially of dementia patients) to experience confusion or hallucinations late in the day or at night, likely as a result of strange surroundings, drug effects, decreased sensory input, or reduction of oxygen supply to the brain.

sundown

/ ˈsʌnˌdaʊn /

noun

1. another name for sunset

Word History and Origins

Origin of sundown¹

First recorded in 1610–20; sun + down ¹

Example Sentences

At sundown, it began to snow in earnest.

Read more on Literature

At sundown, one of them left his post.

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So it was to bed well before sundown and up at 4 a.m.—even earlier when daytime temperatures rose into the 90s.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For director of photography Alex Ashe, the decision to set Hujar and Rosenkrantz’s discussion from morning through sundown was “the revelation that kind of unlocked the film for us,” he says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But unlike most heritage tours, this one happens after sundown.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• dusk