dawn

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [U,C] the time of day when light first appears SYNDAYBREAK, SUNRISE: They start work at dawn. * It's almost dawn. * We arrived in Sydney as dawn broke (= as the first light could be seen). * I woke up just before dawn. * summer's early dawns * He works from dawn till dusk (= from morning till night). * The plane took off, leaving London behind in a blue-grey dawn. compareDUSK 2 [sing.] ~ (of sth) the beginning or first signs of sth: the dawn of civilization / time / history * Peace marked a new dawn in the country's history. * the dawn of a golden age in European art IDIOMS see BREAKn., CRACKn. verb [V] 1 (written) (of a day or a period of time) to begin: The following morning dawned bright and warm. * A new technological age had dawned. 2 to become obvious or easy to understand: Slowly the awful truth dawned. IDIOMS see LIGHTn. PHRASALVERBS dawn on sb [nopassive] if sth dawns on you, you begin to realize it for the first time: [+that] Suddenly it dawned on me that they couldn't possibly have met before.