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
Paul Calandrella, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
As this morning dawned, Hurricane Milton was exiting Florida on its east coast, still maintaining hurricane-force winds.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2024
Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
With the dawn of a new season upon us, there’s no time quite like the present to start crafting your chicest fall capsule wardrobe yet.
—Laura Jackson, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dawn 
Verb
Value And Personal Connections As this decade has dawned, customer expectations of the D2C marketplace have normalized, and some qualities of the original mainstreet marketplace have become resurgent.
—Paul Calandrella, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
As this morning dawned, Hurricane Milton was exiting Florida on its east coast, still maintaining hurricane-force winds.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2024
Noun
He was forced to flee, finding refuge in California at the dawn of the Second World War with a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
With the dawn of a new season upon us, there’s no time quite like the present to start crafting your chicest fall capsule wardrobe yet.
—Laura Jackson, Vogue, 9 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.
Dictionary Entries Near dawn
Cite this Entry
“Dawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dawn. Accessed 25 Oct. 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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