sunsets

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   the time each evening when the sun goes down below the horizon, or the colorful sky at that time.

   Grammar: Countable: one sunset, two sunsets. It can also be used before another noun: sunset colors.

   Patterns

   • watch the sunsets
   • at sunset
   • a beautiful sunset

   We watched three amazing sunsets from the hotel balcony.

   The sunsets in Hawaii are famous for their pink and orange colors.

   In winter, sunsets happen much earlier in the afternoon.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   the final period of something, especially a career, industry, or life.

   Grammar: Often used figuratively in phrases like 'the sunset of his career.'

   Patterns

   • the sunset of something
   • in the sunset of life

   The sunset of the coal industry left many towns without jobs.

   He spent the sunset of his life writing his memoirs.

Word forms

Common combinations

watch the sunset

We sat on the beach to watch the sunset.

a spectacular sunset

The sky turned red in a spectacular sunset.

at sunset

The ceremony will begin at sunset.

sunset over the ocean

They took photos of the sunset over the ocean.

Synonyms and how they differ

dusk

Dusk is the darker, later part of the evening after the sun has set; a sunset is the actual moment or the colorful sky.

sundown

Sundown is a more literary or old-fashioned word for the same time of day; it does not usually describe the colors.

Opposites

Word family

sunset noun

The singular form, meaning one evening's setting of the sun.

Commonly confused: sunsets or sunrise?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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