Words / B2

DUSK/dʌsk/

Dusk is the time of day when it is getting dark, just before night (usually uncountable): at dusk; dusk till dawn. Twilight and sunset are close twins; dawn is the morning opposite. Civil dusk featured in the fieldwork log, then the clock time. Mix-up: dusk vs dust; disc; do not write dusk for a postcard caption with no clock time.

Meaning

The time of day when it is getting dark, just before night (usually uncountable).

Examples

• “Civil dusk featured in the fieldwork log, then the clock time, not a postcard caption.”
• “A dusk curfew featured in the by-law, which is the clock-time sense — still quote the hour.”

Good to know

at dusk; from dusk till dawn; dusk falls. Close: twilight / sunset. Opposite: dawn. Trap: dust. Geography, science, and citizenship. The fading light before night — quote the clock time.

Near in meaning

twilight, sunset, nightfall

New