Definition of 'dawn'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense dawns
, present participle dawning
, past tense, past participle dawned
2. singular noun
3. verb
[written]
4. verb
When you say that a particular day dawned, you mean it arrived or began, usually when it became light.
[written]
Phrasal verbs:
See dawn on
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
You may also like
Word Frequency
dawn in British English
noun
3.
the beginning of something
verb (intransitive)
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
dawnlike (ˈdawnˌlike) adjective
Word origin
Old English dagian to dawn; see dayWord Frequency
dawn in American English
noun
4.
the beginning of daylight in the morning; daybreak
5.
the beginning (of something)
the dawn of the Space Age
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME daunen, back-form. < dauninge, earlier dauinge, daybreak, prob. altered (infl. by ON dagan, dawn) < OE dagung < dagian, to become day < dæg, dayWord Frequency
dawn in American English
(dɔn)
noun
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. daybreak, sunrise. 5. appear, occur, break.ANTONYMS 1. sunset.3.
to begin to grow light in the morning
The day dawned with a cloudless sky
4.
to begin to open or develop
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
dawnlike adjective
Word origin
[bef. 1150; ME dawen (v.), OE dagian, deriv. of dæg day; akin to ON daga, MD, MLG dagen, OHG tagēn]Examples of 'dawn' in a sentence
dawn
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content that does not reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company HarperCollins.
We welcome feedback: report an example sentence to the Collins team. Read more…
Quotations
rosy-fingered dawnIliad
Trends of
dawn
View usage for:
Source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
In other languages
dawn
British English: dawn
/dɔːn/ NOUN
Dawn is the time of day when light first appears in the sky, before the sun rises.
She woke at dawn.
- American English: dawn /ˈdɔn/
- Arabic: فَجْر
- Brazilian Portuguese: amanhecer
- Chinese: 黎明
- Croatian: zora
- Czech: úsvit
- Danish: daggry
- Dutch: dageraad
- European Spanish: amanecer
- Finnish: aamunkoitto
- French: aube
- German: Dämmerung
- Greek: αυγή
- Italian: alba
- Japanese: 夜明け
- Korean: 새벽
- Norwegian: daggry
- Polish: świt
- European Portuguese: amanhecer
- Romanian: zori
- Russian: рассвет
- Latin American Spanish: amanecer
- Swedish: gryning
- Thai: รุ่งอรุณ, ฟ้าสาง
- Turkish: şafak
- Ukrainian: світанок
- Vietnamese: bình minh
Browse alphabetically
dawn
Related terms of
dawn
Source
Definition of dawn from the Collins English Dictionary
Read about the team of authors behind Collins Dictionaries.
Quick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
-
Score: 0 / 5
SPORTS
Drag the correct answer into the box.
wrestling
pool
snooker
canoeing
SPORTS
Drag the correct answer into the box.
sailing
skiing
snooker
golf
Your score:
Word of the day
abyssopelagic
referring to or occurring in the region of deep water above the floor of the ocean
Latest Word Submissions
Collins English Dictionary Apps
Download our English Dictionary apps - available for both iOS and Android.
Read more
Collins Dictionaries for Schools
Our new online dictionaries for schools provide a safe and appropriate environment for children. And best of all it's ad free, so sign up now and start using at home or in the classroom.
Read more
Word lists
We have almost 200 lists of words from topics as varied as types of butterflies, jackets, currencies, vegetables and knots!
Amaze your friends with your new-found knowledge!
Read more
Quick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
-
Score: 0 / 5
SYNONYMS
Select the synonym for:
ambassador
SYNONYMS
Select the synonym for:
to climb
SYNONYMS
Select the synonym for:
frantically
SYNONYMS
Select the synonym for:
bountifully
SYNONYMS
Select the synonym for:
hate
Your score:
Environment Day 2024
To mark Environment Day 2024, we consider just a few of the words we use to speak about the world around us and the ecological issues we face today.
Read more
Learning English: the time
Time for a new Learning English blog! Learn more about how to tell the time and how to answer 'when' questions in English.
Read more
Learning English: Months of the year
Learn how to speak about the months of the year, and give information about important dates. Improve your English with Collins.
Read more
Learning English: Days of the week
Learn how to discuss what happens on different days of the week, whether you want to make plans for the day or talk about weekly routines.
Read more
Collins English Dictionary Apps
Download our English Dictionary apps - available for both iOS and Android.
Read more
Collins Dictionaries for Schools
Our new online dictionaries for schools provide a safe and appropriate environment for children. And best of all it's ad free, so sign up now and start using at home or in the classroom.
Read more
Word lists
We have almost 200 lists of words from topics as varied as types of butterflies, jackets, currencies, vegetables and knots!
Amaze your friends with your new-found knowledge!
Read more