Link Centre Dictionary

dawn

UK/dɔːn/ US/doːn/ common
noun (3) verb (3)

noun

1.

the first light of day

  • “we got up before dawn”
  • “they talked until morning”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

the earliest period

  • “the dawn of civilization”
  • “the morning of the world”
Synonyms
3.

an opening time period

  • “it was the dawn of the Roman Empire”

verb

1.

become clear or enter one''s consciousness or emotions

  • “It dawned on him that she had betrayed him”
  • “she was penetrated with sorrow”
Synonyms
2.

appear or develop

  • “The age of computers had dawned”
3.

become light

  • “It started to dawn, and we had to get up”

Origin

From Middle English dawnen, either a back-formation from dawnynge or a modification of dawen (“to dawn”) after it. The noun is from the verb.

Phrases

  • crack of dawn
  • dawn ape
  • dawn choir
  • dawn chorus
  • dawn horse
  • dawn man
  • dawn of a new day
  • dawn of time
  • dawn on

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Causes

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.