Words / B2

DAYL-yt/ˈdeɪlaɪt/

Daylight is the natural light of the day (usually uncountable); in broad daylight means openly, in the daytime: hours of daylight; daylight hours. Sunlight is a close twin; dawn is the start. Hours of daylight featured in the climate table. Mix-up: daylight vs day light as two words in old sources; twilight; do not write daylight for a lighting advert with no table of hours.

Meaning

The natural light of the day (usually uncountable); in broad daylight means openly, in the daytime.

Examples

• “Hours of daylight featured in the climate table, not a lighting advert.”
• “The theft was in broad daylight, the crime source said, which is the openly-in-daytime sense — still name the street if given.”

Good to know

hours of daylight; daylight hours; in broad daylight. Close: sunlight. Contrast: twilight / night. Trap: a lamp advert. Geography, science, and citizenship. Natural light during the day — quote the hours or the openness.

Near in meaning

sunlight, daytime, dawn

New