dusk
1 Americannoun
-
the state or period of partial darkness between day and night; the dark part of twilight.
-
partial darkness; shade; gloom.
She was barely visible in the dusk of the room.
adjective
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
twilight or the darker part of twilight
-
poetic gloom; shade
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
- duskish adjective
Etymology
Origin of dusk1
First recorded in 1615–25; back formation from dusky
Origin of dusk2
before 1000; Middle English duske (adj.), dusken (v.); metathetic alteration of Old English dox dusky, doxian to turn dark; cognate with L. fuscus dark
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But just after dusk, the mood began to change.
We had barely traveled a mile when dusk approached.
From Literature
Its light shone pale in the dusk as she jumped down the rocks to Turtle Beach.
From Literature
A surge in cases among migrant workers at a quarry site in Mandera last year led authorities to restrict movement at dusk and dawn when sandflies are most active.
From Barron's
The very next day, as day turned to dusk out on the lake, I waited till it was almost time to head back to shore.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
