dawn

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   The time in the early morning when the sky begins to get light, just before the sun rises.

   Grammar: Often used with at or before: at dawn, before dawn; no article after at.

   Patterns

   • at dawn
   • before dawn
   • from dusk till dawn

   We left the campsite at dawn to avoid the heat.

   Birds begin to sing long before dawn.

   The first rays of dawn lit up the mountain.

2. 2nounsingularliteraryfigurative

   The first beginning of something important, such as a new age or idea.

   Grammar: Usually singular with the and followed by of: the dawn of a new era.

   Patterns

   • the dawn of something

   Scientists spoke of the dawn of a new age of medicine.

   Cave paintings date from the dawn of human history.

3. 3verbintransitive

   To start to be understood or realized by someone, often slowly and after a delay.

   Grammar: Often followed by on: it dawned on me that I had left the oven on.

   Patterns

   • something dawns on someone
   • it dawns on someone that something

   It slowly dawned on her that nobody was coming to the meeting.

   The truth finally dawned on him as he read the letter.

   It dawned on us that we had taken the wrong road.

4. 4verbintransitive

   To begin, as a day does, when the light first appears; also said of a new period or situation starting.

   Grammar: No object; the subject is a day or a period: a new day dawned.

   Patterns

   • a new day dawns

   The day dawned cold and clear.

   A new era of cheap travel was dawning.

Word forms

Common combinations

at dawn

The fishermen set out at dawn.

before dawn

The baker wakes before dawn every day.

break of dawn

We were awake at the break of dawn.

dawn chorus

The dawn chorus woke us in the spring.

the dawn of civilization

Wheat has been grown since the dawn of civilization.

dawn on someone

The seriousness of the situation began to dawn on them.

Synonyms and how they differ

daybreak

Daybreak is nearly the same moment, but dawn can also be used figuratively for beginnings.

sunrise

Sunrise is the instant the sun appears, while dawn is the gradual brightening beforehand.

first light

First light is more descriptive and often used in military or outdoor writing.

beginning

Beginning is a plain word for a start, while dawn gives it a sense of something new and hopeful.

Opposites

Word family

dawning noun

the first appearance of something, or daybreak

daybreak noun

the time when light first appears in the morning

predawn adjective

happening before dawn

Commonly confused: dawn or down?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “dawn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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