twilight

TWY-lyt/ˈtwaɪˌlaɪt/

Pluraltwilights (some meanings)

6 meanings of twilight

1
noununcountable
The time just after the sun sets, or just before it rises, when the sky is not yet fully dark.
Like the dim glow that stays for a while after you turn off a bright lamp.
We walked home in the twilight after the sun went down.
By the time we finished, twilight was fading into night.
UsageSay at twilight, like at dusk.
Similardusk, nightfall
Note
2
noununcountable
Soft, weak light, especially the light in the sky just after the sun sets or before it rises.
Like the soft light that stays in a room for a moment after the sun dips behind the hills.
A faint twilight still lit the path long after sunset.
We watched the twilight fade from pink to gray.
UsageSay in the twilight for the soft light.
Similarhalf-light
Note
3
in-between stagenounfigurativelyusually singular
The last stage of something as it gets weaker, or a state between two things where nothing is fully clear.
Like the moment when you are almost asleep but not quite: half awake, half dreaming.
In the twilight between sleep and waking, I heard my phone ring.
Her memory drifted into a twilight where past and present blurred.
UsageOften the twilight of something, like the twilight of a career.
Similardecline, sunset, evening, autumn, ebb
Oppositedawn, heyday, prime
Note
4
adjective
Looking like twilight, faintly lit or hard to see clearly.
Like how a room looks when only one small lamp is on.
They walked through the twilight woods, barely able to see the trail.
A twilight haze hung over the lake at dusk.
Similardim, dusky, shadowy, crepuscular
Oppositebright, sunlit
5
ocean layeradjective
Describing the ocean layer where only a tiny amount of light reaches, below the sunlit top.
Like the deep underwater space where light from above almost fades to nothing.
Lanternfish hide in the ocean's twilight zone during the day.
Scientists sent a robot to explore the twilight zone of the ocean.
UsageUsually said as the twilight zone.
Similarmesopelagic
Note

Less common meaning

6
light softlyverbliterarytransitive
To give a faint, gentle light to something.
UsageThe past form is twilit or twilighted, as in a twilit garden.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of twilight apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English twilight, made from twi- meaning 'double' or 'half' plus light, so it literally meant 'half-light'.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

The word comes from Middle English twilight. en.wiktionary.org
It combines twi-, meaning 'double' or 'half', with light. en.wiktionary.org
Its literal meaning was 'half-light'. en.wiktionary.org