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
Dennis Perkins and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 5 July 2024
The women were presented to the crowd sporting matching all-white outfits and dawning a stunning white and blue bouquet of flowers.
—Deanna Taylor, Essence, 1 July 2024
Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA TODAY, 5 July 2024
Some weary customers who have staked out a position at dawn in the blockslong line running toward Deir al-Balah’s Salah ad-Din roundabout now sit on the pavement, no longer able to stand.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for dawn 
Verb
As a woman whose dawning realization infests and wrenches apart her family, Collette turns in one of the most towering horror performances in memory.
—Dennis Perkins and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 5 July 2024
The women were presented to the crowd sporting matching all-white outfits and dawning a stunning white and blue bouquet of flowers.
—Deanna Taylor, Essence, 1 July 2024
Noun
In the latest fighting in Gaza, residents said Israeli tanks had pushed shortly before dawn into the Al-Nasser neighbourhood in the northern part of Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
—Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA TODAY, 5 July 2024
Some weary customers who have staked out a position at dawn in the blockslong line running toward Deir al-Balah’s Salah ad-Din roundabout now sit on the pavement, no longer able to stand.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 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 15 Jul. 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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