Home UK English daylight

Meaning of daylight in English:

daylight

Pronunciation /ˈdeɪlʌɪt/

See synonyms for daylight

Translate daylight into Spanish

noun

mass noun

  • 1The natural light of the day.

    ‘the area is dangerous even in daylight’
    • ‘there were two hours of daylight left’
    • ‘the daylight hours’
    • ‘Because we had only oil lamps for light I only worked during daylight hours.’
    • ‘She stared at the dancing flames for hours, daylight passing to twilight and then to darkness.’
    • ‘They also recommend hunters check out the land during daylight hours to identify public footpaths and other obvious dangers.’
    • ‘Councillors agreed to restrict the use of the car park to daylight hours, with the gates being locked at 8pm each evening.’
    • ‘This site is open all year round in daylight hours and is free of charge.’
    • ‘Plants were illuminated by natural daylight, supplemented by sodium lamps.’
    • ‘He came with a weapon right in broad daylight in front of tourists.’
    • ‘Poinsettias thrive on bright, sunny natural daylight.’
    • ‘High above he could see daylight filtering through vegetation.’
    • ‘At the other end bright daylight shone through a frosted panel.’
    • ‘Natural daylight was supplemented with mercury vapour lamps.’
    • ‘The shade's structure excludes direct sunlight but allows diffuse daylight to pass through.’
    • ‘The daylight was fading fast as the sun went down behind the mountains.’
    • ‘As daylight faded, fireflies started to spark high above in the canopy.’
    • ‘Cool thieves stole a £15,000 steel cabin in a daring daylight raid.’
    • ‘The American forces were responsible for the daylight bombing, the British for nighttime bombing.’
    • ‘Sam shook her head, squinting her eyes in the rapidly fading daylight.’
    • ‘The roof of the protective shelter needs repairs to shut out the daylight streaming through.’
    • ‘Soon there was enough daylight filtering in to see their way clearly.’
    • ‘I was awakened by the beams of daylight shining through the cabin window.’
    natural light, sunlight, light of day
    daytime, daylight hours, day, hours of sunlight
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1The first appearance of light in the morning; dawn.
      ‘I returned at daylight’
      • ‘she had been up before daylight’
      • ‘The next morning at first daylight we prepared the cars, we packed our bags, we got ready to leave the hotel.’
      • ‘It wasn't until daylight this morning, I found that a window in my front door had been badly cracked.’
      • ‘I definitely wanted the animal out of my driveway before daylight and the Monday morning carpool.’
      • ‘It was daylight before Dusty had returned.’
      • ‘Before daylight Peter had returned to the scene of his crime and picked up where he had left off teaching.’
      • ‘As it was, the darkness of night was beginning to give way to the gloaming before daylight.’
      • ‘They worked from daylight to dusk to get it all ready.’
      • ‘The daylight creeping up on night just outside my window would be the last of anything I saw out that window.’
      • ‘Just after midway between midnight and daylight, Aver left the house.’
      • ‘The man and the woman work on it from daylight to dusk.’
      • ‘Night passed and daylight began to creep over the horizon; the chirping of wild birds woke me.’
      • ‘But as daylight broke, Mr Grogan was returned victorious.’
      • ‘I returned to the same spot at daylight and resumed where I left off.’
      dawn, daybreak, break of day, crack of dawn, sunrise, first light, first thing in the morning, early morning, cockcrow
      View synonyms
    2. 1.2An appreciable distance or difference between one person or thing and another.
      ‘their views on education are so close that it's difficult to see daylight between them’
      • ‘the growing daylight between himself and the leading jockey’
      • ‘Brent Peters' men finally put some daylight between the two sides in the 90th minute.’
      • ‘Garryowen responded quickly and two tries and a penalty put daylight between the teams.’
      • ‘Joe McCann and Sean McDermott continued to score vital baskets to keep daylight between the teams.’
      • ‘The Blues now began to see daylight between themselves and their hosts with a 12-23 lead.’

Phrases

    — the living daylights out of

    • Do the specified thing to (someone) with great severity.

      ‘he beat the living daylights out of them’
      • ‘he can scare the living daylights out of a cinema audience’
      • ‘it frightened the daylights out of me’
      • ‘He was employed as a ‘scary actor’ - one of the living figures who people the dungeon and scare the living daylights out of visitors.’
      • ‘He could be very funny, harshly cruel, and would use his sharp wit and temper to scare the living daylights out of paranoid politicians who had him followed in the night.’
      • ‘Thus, swearing evolved a useful purpose as a buffer between fury and the instinct to beat the living daylights out of each other.’
      • ‘These true stories of dark doings, loose ends, and unexplained terror keep us up at night, defy all reason, and scare the living daylights out of us.’
      • ‘The only reason why I didn't beat the living daylights out of Travis was because Lisa begged me not to.’
      • ‘I would take them out into the front street and beat the living daylights out of them.’
      • ‘I looked up to see a seventeen-year-old standing over me, about to beat the living daylights out of my eleven-year-old body.’
      • ‘Have I mentioned that heights scare the living daylights out of me?’
      • ‘He had a sudden urge to beat the living daylights out of Taylor.’
      • ‘I growled and tried to figure out a way to get some slack for my arms so that I could beat the living daylights out of the idiot that had hold of me.’
      • ‘So one night she hides in the cemetery and figures to scare the living daylights out of him.’
      • ‘I told him since he seemed unable to assure that my daughter would be safe in his school I'd sue the living daylights out of him, the school, the city etc.’
      • ‘"You scared the living daylights out of me, " Natalia whispered harshly.’
      • ‘"Yeah and you scare the living daylights out of me because of it.’
      • ‘She wasn't ashamed to admit he scared the living daylights out of her.’
    see daylight

    • 1Gain public exposure or attention.

      ‘old photographs that rarely see daylight’
      • ‘Also on the 24th, the long-awaited Peter Gabriel album will finally see daylight.’
      • ‘The memorable trips are there, captured in old photographs that rarely see daylight.’
      • ‘If all the circumstances of his killing see daylight, the pressure for a full public inquiry will be irresistible.’
      • ‘Since the man did not see daylight in the English-language press, I am going to recount several of his more famous appearances.’
      • ‘It is just a fact and its real meaning will never see daylight ".’
      • ‘But I see daylight down the road and feel it is part the Master's plan.’
      • ‘And why an entire generation has entered the world and reached maturity with plans for a new Bronx Terminal Market just starting to see daylight.’
      • ‘I never thought it would see daylight again.’
      • ‘Sorry about all the comments that were submitted yesterday evening and that didn't see daylight till this morning.’
      • ‘The Democrats can see daylight ahead.’

    • 2Begin to understand what was previously puzzling or unclear.

      ‘Sam saw daylight. ‘You think he might be your father?’’
      • ‘I don't really expect that the white politicians are going to see daylight tomorrow because we have a new national chief.’
      • ‘It was as if she was seeing daylight for the first time.’