dusk

¹

[ duhsk ]

noun

1. the state or period of partial darkness between day and night; the dark part of twilight.
2. partial darkness; shade; gloom:

   She was barely visible in the dusk of the room.

dusk

²

[ duhsk ]

adjective

1. tending to darkness; dark.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become dusk; darken.

dusk

/ dʌsk /

noun

1. twilight or the darker part of twilight
2. poetic.
   gloom; shade

adjective

1. poetic.
   shady; gloomy

verb

1. poetic.
   to make or become dark

Other Words From

• duskish adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dusk¹

Old English dox; related to Old Saxon dosan brown, Old High German tusin yellow, Norwegian dusmen misty, Latin fuscus dark brown

Example Sentences

The new album’s title may hint at sunshine and waking hours, but make no mistake, Yoakam is a night owl, a man for whom work begins around dusk and often stretches into dawn.

From Los Angeles Times

The scene was so familiar: the sour scent of the scrub brush and palms, the hillside homes glowing at dusk, the old burn in my calves.

From Los Angeles Times

The scene was so familiar: the sour scent of the scrub brush and palms, the hillside homes glowing at dusk, the old burn in my calves.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s dusk inside an empty Hollywood Bowl as David Gilmour peers out from the stage and delivers his song “Dark and Velvet Nights” to no one in particular.

From Los Angeles Times

As day turns to dusk and then nighttime, the suffused daylight outside gives way to the firefly-like flicker of passing headlights, while inside the room is bathed in light from a huge TV screen on one wall.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• nightfall
• sundown
• sunset
• twilight