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
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
Lewis was trailed by 8-year-old son Rory, who wore an Aztecs jersey with No. 1 on it for a closeup glimpse as a new era of SDSU football dawned.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2024
His dawning awareness of others around him imbues him with a kind of heroism.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024
Saturday March 9 dawned as a gusty gray morning in Charleston, S.C. with thunderstorms rolling across the historic city and daggers of lightening lighting up the skies.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024
Pink connotes dawn, the promise of coming daylight.
—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
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
Crappie feed in low light, so the best times to fish are at dawn and dusk.
—Don Wirth, Field & Stream, 4 Apr. 2024
With the dawn of a new quarter, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index has given hope of a rate cut in the near future.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
The first of two waves of rain will begin to move ashore before dawn Saturday and will be followed by a second, weaker wave on Sunday, potentially disrupting the Padres first home stand of the season.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2024
The water temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit before dawn Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
—Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024
Look toward the northeastern horizon in the early hours before dawn or the northwestern horizon in the evening after sunset.
—The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
Verb
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
Lewis was trailed by 8-year-old son Rory, who wore an Aztecs jersey with No. 1 on it for a closeup glimpse as a new era of SDSU football dawned.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2024
His dawning awareness of others around him imbues him with a kind of heroism.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024
Saturday March 9 dawned as a gusty gray morning in Charleston, S.C. with thunderstorms rolling across the historic city and daggers of lightening lighting up the skies.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024
Pink connotes dawn, the promise of coming daylight.
—Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Noun
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
Crappie feed in low light, so the best times to fish are at dawn and dusk.
—Don Wirth, Field & Stream, 4 Apr. 2024
With the dawn of a new quarter, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index has given hope of a rate cut in the near future.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
The first of two waves of rain will begin to move ashore before dawn Saturday and will be followed by a second, weaker wave on Sunday, potentially disrupting the Padres first home stand of the season.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Mar. 2024
The water temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit before dawn Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
—Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024
Look toward the northeastern horizon in the early hours before dawn or the northwestern horizon in the evening after sunset.
—The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 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 23 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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