dusked; dusking; dusks
: to become dark
the dusking room
: to make dark or gloomy
a gray light dusked the room—
William Sansom
William Sansom… his … formality dusked by the saturnine mood of ill health.—Herman Melville
Herman Melville1
: the darker part of twilight especially at night
The park closes at dusk.
2
: darkness or semidarkness caused by the shutting out of light
Synonyms
Examples of dusk in a Sentence
Adjective
under a dusk sky, the campers wearily bedded down for the night
Verb
the grief-stricken woman continued to sit in the dusking room until she was completely enveloped in darkness
Noun
The park closes at dusk.
we stopped playing at dusk, since it was getting too dark to see the ball
Recent Examples on the WebOutside Online, 1 Aug. 2022
Mylar space blankets draped across their shoulders glistened a surreal golden hue as the vessel’s blinding strobe lights illuminated the post-dusk spectacle.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2021
Forgive me for skipping dinner, but my pre-dusk meals were simply not going to be outshone.
—Andi Berlin, The Arizona Republic, 22 Aug. 2021
The park is open 8 a.m. to dusk year-round, while the information and gift center is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. now through Thanksgiving and vary with the season.
—oregonlive, 14 Mar. 2020
Waiting to hear After dusk Wednesday, buses began to arrive at the plant to return some of the immigrants after processing.
—Author: Jenny Jarvie, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2019
On July 4, Elitch Gardens will offer a dusk fireworks display visible from the surrounding areas, and The Denver Outlaws game at Mile High Stadium (against the Boston Cannons) on July 4 will also be followed by fireworks.
—John Wenzel, The Know, 24 June 2019
Jerome Hansen, Jack Schermerhorn, Ralph Nelson and Ken McCormick, Detroit Free Press, 6 Apr. 2024
Lava cooked pizza, wine and roasting marshmallows at the base of the show-stealing volcano as dusk slips to inky darkness.
—Claire Boobbyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Apr. 2024
The park is open year-round from dawn to dusk, and there's a daily parking fee.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024
Dawn is right before the sun rises and dusk is shortly after the sun sets.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Apr. 2024
During that same eclipse in 1991, researchers stationed outside a cave in Mexico saw several species of bats emerge from their roosts in the middle of the afternoon, seemingly tricked by the artificial dusk.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
Every night as dusk falls in Portland, Oregon, the sky fills with birds.
—Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024
Social media video emerged of the tornado looming eerily against graying skies at dusk.
—Scott Dance, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Today, watching a cloud of 1.5 million bats wake up and leave to go hunting at dusk is a major tourist attraction for the city.
—Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024
Adjective
When the summer heat creeps to unbearable temperatures, pre-dawn and post-dusk become the most appealing times to run.
—Outside Online, 1 Aug. 2022
Mylar space blankets draped across their shoulders glistened a surreal golden hue as the vessel’s blinding strobe lights illuminated the post-dusk spectacle.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2021
Forgive me for skipping dinner, but my pre-dusk meals were simply not going to be outshone.
—Andi Berlin, The Arizona Republic, 22 Aug. 2021
The park is open 8 a.m. to dusk year-round, while the information and gift center is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. now through Thanksgiving and vary with the season.
—oregonlive, 14 Mar. 2020
Waiting to hear After dusk Wednesday, buses began to arrive at the plant to return some of the immigrants after processing.
—Author: Jenny Jarvie, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Aug. 2019
On July 4, Elitch Gardens will offer a dusk fireworks display visible from the surrounding areas, and The Denver Outlaws game at Mile High Stadium (against the Boston Cannons) on July 4 will also be followed by fireworks.
—John Wenzel, The Know, 24 June 2019
Noun
As dusk fell over the scene of death, several thousand rescue workers steadily dug the wreckage from the basements and trucked it away.
—Jerome Hansen, Jack Schermerhorn, Ralph Nelson and Ken McCormick, Detroit Free Press, 6 Apr. 2024
Lava cooked pizza, wine and roasting marshmallows at the base of the show-stealing volcano as dusk slips to inky darkness.
—Claire Boobbyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Apr. 2024
The park is open year-round from dawn to dusk, and there's a daily parking fee.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024
Dawn is right before the sun rises and dusk is shortly after the sun sets.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Apr. 2024
During that same eclipse in 1991, researchers stationed outside a cave in Mexico saw several species of bats emerge from their roosts in the middle of the afternoon, seemingly tricked by the artificial dusk.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
Every night as dusk falls in Portland, Oregon, the sky fills with birds.
—Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024
Social media video emerged of the tornado looming eerily against graying skies at dusk.
—Scott Dance, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
Today, watching a cloud of 1.5 million bats wake up and leave to go hunting at dusk is a major tourist attraction for the city.
—Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dusk.' 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 dusk
Cite this Entry
“Dusk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dusk. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share