dusk
/dʌsk/adjective, noun, verb
dusk is spelled D-U-S-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, dusk means “Tending to darkness or blackness; moderately dark or black; dusky” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dusk?
| Letters | 4: D-U-S-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dusk?
Dusk appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dusk?
- US /dʌsk/
- /dʊsk/
Dusk has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dusk.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dusk?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dusk from its last stressed vowel (/ʌsk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dusk
- dusker comparative
- duskest superlative
- dusks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dusking participle, present
- dusked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dusk mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to darkness or blackness; moderately dark or black; dusky.
noun
- 1
The time after the sun has set but when the sky is still lit by sunlight; the evening twilight period.
Witnessing the dusk gives a feeling of solace.
- 2
A darkish colour.
- 3
The condition of being dusky; duskiness
verb
- 1
To begin to lose light or whiteness; to grow dusk.
- 2
To make dusk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dusk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crépuscule, entre chien et loup |
| German | Abenddämmerung , dunkeln |
| Portuguese | pôr do sol, crepúsculo, ocaso, anoitecer |
| Spanish | anochecer, crepúsculo/lubricán vespertino, atardecer, oscurecer, obscurecer, anochecida |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dusk come from?
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). Doublet of fuscous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).