dawn

1 of 2

verb

ˈdȯn How to pronounce dawn (audio)
ˈdän
dawned; dawning; dawns

intransitive verb

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

dawn

2 of 2

noun

1
: the first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise
danced till dawn
at the crack of dawn
Almost before the first faint sign of dawn appeared she arose again …Thomas Hardy
2
: beginning
the dawn of the space age

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
Verb
When the day dawned over Comerica Park on Sept. 1, the Detroit Tigers had already seemingly accomplished the impossible, having climbed from eight games under .500 to a game above in just 21 days on the back of a 14-5 run. Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 23 Sep. 2024 The Genuine Article On a cover for W Magazine to promote the album, Knowles dawned a custom Louis Vuitton tan suit with golden brown and turquoise detailing reminiscent of Porter Wagoner. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 31 May 2024
Noun
The fascinating story involves ancient Greek history, the dawn of the internet, and a fair bit of controversy. October 3, 2024 All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Oct. 2024 Leon Neal / Getty Images Moran Stela Yanai was awake at dawn that morning after a night of partying at the Supernova or Nova music festival in southern Israel’s Negev region. Henry Austin, NBC News, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dawn 

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.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, probably back-formation from dawning daybreak, alteration of dawing, from Old English dagung, from dagian — see daw entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dawn was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near dawn

Cite this Entry

“Dawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dawn. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

dawn

1 of 2 verb
ˈdȯn How to pronounce dawn (audio)
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 noun
1
: the first appearance of light in the morning
2
: a first appearance : beginning
the dawn of a new age

More from Merriam-Webster on dawn

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!