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sundown

American  
[suhn-doun] / ˈsʌnˌdaʊn /

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 British  
/ ˈsʌnˌdaʊn /

noun

  1. another name for sunset

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sundown

First recorded in 1610–20; sun + down 1

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.

The issue gained prominence in June when a band called The Velvet Sundown suddenly went viral on Spotify, and only confirmed the following month that it was in fact AI-generated content.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

Earlier this year, an AI-generated band called the Velvet Sundown was able to attract millions of streams of its 1970s-inflected songs on Spotify.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 16, 2025

"But increasingly, our collective grip on reality seems shaky. The Velvet Sundown story plays into the fears we have of losing control of AI and shows how important protecting online information is."

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2025

He used old telephone poles to support its tower — Ms. Germany, the author of “Houses of the Sundown Sea,” described the place as resembling “a Dutch windmill, a Spanish lighthouse, a Hobbit’s dwelling.”

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2022

It had to be as far away from the Sundown House as possible.

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison

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.