the first light of day
"we got up before dawn"
"they talked until morning"
The morning twilight period immediately before sunrise.
"The fog burned off completely during the dawn, revealing the first hint of sunlight on the horizon."
In plain English: Dawn is the time when the sun first appears above the horizon and it starts to get light outside.
"The dawn broke slowly over the quiet hills, casting a soft light across the fields."
Usage: Use "dawn" to refer specifically to the time just before the sun rises or the first light of morning breaking over the horizon. Do not use it to describe the entire day or any other part of the daylight cycle.
become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
"It dawned on him that she had betrayed him"
"she was penetrated with sorrow"
To begin to brighten with daylight.
"As dawn broke over the mountains, the first rays of sunlight illuminated the snow-capped peaks."
In plain English: To dawn means for an idea or realization to suddenly become clear in your mind.
"The idea suddenly dawned on me that I had forgotten my keys."
Usage: Use the verb dawn only when describing the gradual appearance of morning light or, metaphorically, when an idea suddenly becomes clear to someone. Do not use it to mean "to start" or "to occur" in general contexts.
A female given name from English sometimes given to a girl born at that time of day.
"When my neighbor Dawn arrived for coffee, I couldn't help but smile knowing her parents named her after the morning she was born."
The word "dawn" comes from Middle English and originally meant "to dawn." It was formed as a noun directly from this earlier verb.