dawned; dawning; dawns
1
: to begin to grow light as the sun rises
waited for the day to dawn
2
: to begin to appear or develop
a new era is dawning
3
: to begin to be perceived or understood
the truth finally dawned on us
Synonyms
Examples of dawn in a Sentence
Verb
They waited for the day to dawn.
A new age is dawning.
Noun
as dawn breaks over the city
Winter brings late dawns and early sunsets.
Recent Examples on the Web
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
During her impressive early evening set on the Gobi stage, dawned in a shiny sequined dress beside her eight-piece band, Howard powered through her 45-minute set weaving funk, soul, rock and blues.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2024
The era of customisation and personalisation has dawned, empowering consumers to express their unique identities through their clothing.
—Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
As a new week dawned, users were still having trouble using the app.
—Gina Cherelus, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
Eastern Standard Time, so the best time to observe the shower from North America will be from around 4:53 a.m. EST to dawn, according to EarthSky.
—USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Committing to internal leadership now pays compounding dividends as AI proves foundational to forthcoming innovation cycles and competitive battles in the dawning era of machine intelligence.
—Mark Minevich, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
As the 2014 election cycle dawned, Chevron took action to make sure its voice was heard.
—David Folkenflik, NPR, 28 Mar. 2024
It’s been the source of considerable Gen Z (and probably a lot of millennial) panic, as the realization dawns that the defining social-media platform of the 2020s really could go away.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024
The Lyrids are best seen in the Northern Hemisphere after the moon sets and before dawn, according to NASA.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Lyra hangs high at dawn so that will be a better time to view, the AMS says.
—Huo Jingnan, NPR, 21 Apr. 2024
Like other Muslims, Anjum has spent the last 30 days fasting from dawn to sunset, reflecting on her relationship with God and feeling compassion toward the less fortunate.
—Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
Ending an era in U.S. rocketry, United Launch Alliance fired off its 16th and final triple-core Delta 4 Heavy Tuesday, launching a classified spy satellite in the last hurrah of a storied family of rockets dating back to the dawn of the space age.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
Such digital spaces may be relatively new, but fantasizing about a celebrity meet-cute isn’t; as my colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany noted, fans have been writing RPF since at least the dawn of Beatlemania.
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Mac Engel | Columnist Mac is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man, including Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers and Mavericks.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2024
As the eclipse passes overhead, people watching should see afternoon light fade to resemble something like dusk or dawn.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2024
Verb
Amid the commercial space age, Sent Into Space has few competitors
The rising success of Rose and Baker's company comes at a time when the commercial space age is only just dawning.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
During her impressive early evening set on the Gobi stage, dawned in a shiny sequined dress beside her eight-piece band, Howard powered through her 45-minute set weaving funk, soul, rock and blues.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2024
The era of customisation and personalisation has dawned, empowering consumers to express their unique identities through their clothing.
—Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
As a new week dawned, users were still having trouble using the app.
—Gina Cherelus, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
Eastern Standard Time, so the best time to observe the shower from North America will be from around 4:53 a.m. EST to dawn, according to EarthSky.
—USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Committing to internal leadership now pays compounding dividends as AI proves foundational to forthcoming innovation cycles and competitive battles in the dawning era of machine intelligence.
—Mark Minevich, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
As the 2014 election cycle dawned, Chevron took action to make sure its voice was heard.
—David Folkenflik, NPR, 28 Mar. 2024
It’s been the source of considerable Gen Z (and probably a lot of millennial) panic, as the realization dawns that the defining social-media platform of the 2020s really could go away.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
Noun
That was most likely in 2020, at the dawn of Covid.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024
The Lyrids are best seen in the Northern Hemisphere after the moon sets and before dawn, according to NASA.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Lyra hangs high at dawn so that will be a better time to view, the AMS says.
—Huo Jingnan, NPR, 21 Apr. 2024
Like other Muslims, Anjum has spent the last 30 days fasting from dawn to sunset, reflecting on her relationship with God and feeling compassion toward the less fortunate.
—Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2024
Ending an era in U.S. rocketry, United Launch Alliance fired off its 16th and final triple-core Delta 4 Heavy Tuesday, launching a classified spy satellite in the last hurrah of a storied family of rockets dating back to the dawn of the space age.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
Such digital spaces may be relatively new, but fantasizing about a celebrity meet-cute isn’t; as my colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany noted, fans have been writing RPF since at least the dawn of Beatlemania.
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Mac Engel | Columnist Mac is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man, including Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers and Mavericks.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2024
As the eclipse passes overhead, people watching should see afternoon light fade to resemble something like dusk or dawn.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dawn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dawn
Cite this Entry
“Dawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dawn. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dawn
1 of 2 verb
ˈdȯn 
ˈdän
1
: to begin to grow light as the sun rises
waited for the day to dawn
2
: to begin to appear or develop
a smile dawned on her face
3
: to begin to be understood
the solution dawned on him
dawn
2 of 2 noun1
: the first appearance of light in the morning
2
: a first appearance : beginning
the dawn of a new age
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