dawn

I UK [dɔːn] / US [dɔn] noun [countable/uncountable]
Word forms "dawn":
singular dawn plural dawns
**

the beginning of the day, when it begins to get light

I don't think he went to sleep until dawn.

at dawn:

They had decided to leave at dawn.

dawn breaks (= starts):

As dawn broke, queues of people began to form at all the border crossings.

from dawn till dusk (= all day):

He had worked from dawn till dusk without a break.

•

- the dawn of something

See:

crack II

II UK [dɔːn] / US [dɔn] verb [intransitive]
Word forms "dawn":
present tense I/you/we/they dawn he/she/it dawns present participle dawning past tense dawned past participle dawned
*

1) if a day or morning dawns, it begins to get light

The big day dawned with a howling wind and heavy rain.

2) if something such as a new period in history dawns, it begins

The camera age was just dawning, and none of us had ever had our pictures taken before.

3) if something such as a thought or a feeling dawns, you begin to realize, understand, or feel it

dawn that:

The realization dawned that few of them would survive.

Phrasal verbs:

- dawn on