daylight
Americannoun
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the light of day.
At the end of the tunnel they could see daylight.
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public knowledge or awareness; openness.
The newspaper article brought the scandal out into the daylight.
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the period of day; daytime.
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a clear space or gap, especially between two people or things that should be close together, as between the knees of a horseback rider and a saddle.
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disagreement or mental distance between two people.
There's very little daylight between the two senators' stances on the issue.
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Informal. daylights, mental soundness, consciousness, or wits: I'd like to beat/knock the daylights out of him!
The noise scared the daylights out of us.
I'd like to beat/knock the daylights out of him!
adjective
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
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light from the sun
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( as modifier )
daylight film
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the period when it is light; daytime
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daybreak
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to understand something previously obscure
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to realize that the end of a difficult task is approaching
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of daylight
A Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at day , light 1
Explanation
The period of each day when the sun is shining is daylight. If you work as a lifeguard at the town pool, your job takes place during daylight. You can use daylight and daytime interchangeably, although daylight also means "daytime light" or "the light of the sun." If you lose electricity in your house for a few days, you might have to stick to reading when there's daylight. Many public parks are only open during daylight hours. If someone scares the living daylights out of you, they terrify you — this colloquial phrase comes from an old sense of the eyes being referred to as daylights.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meanwhile, the United States Senate, in 2022, unanimously passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.
From Slate • Jun. 6, 2026
For some locations, this event will occur during daylight hours.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
There are currently 14 gentoo penguins at Sea Life in an enclosure previously criticised for its small pool and lack of daylight.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
By daylight, a massive fireball was filmed erupting near a cluster of high-rise residential buildings, sending a mushroom-shaped column of smoke rising above the city skyline.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
The tall front door opened a bit later, letting a triangle of bright daylight fall upon the marble floor.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
