Word
dusk
US/ˈdəsk/
UK/dˈʌsk/
Definitions
01the time before night
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun
n. the time of day when it is nearly dark, just after the evening light starts to fade.
n. the final stage of twilight before the onset of night. Uncountable in general reference, though countable when referring to specific instances.
“The street lights usually come on at dusk when the sky turns purple.”
“As dusk fell over the valley, the hikers quickened their pace to reach the campsite before the trail became invisible in the dark.”
02to grow dark
C2 · Proficiency Literary
v. to slowly become dark as the day ends.
v. to grow dark or to begin to lose light. Intransitive and primarily found in poetic or descriptive prose.
“The woods began to dusk as the shadows grew longer between the trees.”
“The landscape dusks rapidly in the high mountains, catching many unprepared travellers without adequate lighting.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
03dark in colour
C2 · Proficiency Archaic · Literary
adj. having a dark or shadowy colour.
adj. tending toward darkness or blackness in hue. Often replaced by 'dusky' in modern speech.
“The bird had dusk feathers that helped it hide in the shadows.”
“The ancient tapestry was woven with dusk threads of indigo and charcoal, depicting a scene of midnight revelry.”
Real-World Examples
“The artists' impressions show the tower perhaps rather optimistically fading from view in the dusk sky.” Etymology
From Middle English dosk, dusk(e) (“dusky”, adj.), from Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”), from Proto-Germanic duskaz (“dark, smoky”), from Proto-Indo-European dʰwes-, related to *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, mist, haze”). Cognate to Latin fuscus (“dark, dusky”), Sanskrit धूसर (dhūsara, “dust-colored”), Old Irish donn (“dark”). Related to dye, dust and dun (see these for more).
From Middle English dusken, from Old English doxian.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Related words
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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