sun ‧ light /ˈsʌnlaɪt/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
natural light that comes from the sun:
The water sparkled in the bright sunlight.
morning/afternoon/evening sunlight
The garden looked lovely in the evening sunlight.
Sunlight streamed (=came in large amounts) through the windows.
a shaft of sunlight (=beam of sunlight)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + sunlight
▪ the morning/afternoon/evening sunlight
Their armour glinted in the early morning sunlight.
▪ bright sunlight
She shaded her eyes against the bright sunlight.
▪ strong sunlight
Don't expose babies under six months to strong sunlight.
▪ direct sunlight
This plant prefers to be kept out of direct sunlight.
▪ dappled sunlight (=when sunlight comes through trees)
the dappled sunlight of the forest
▪ the fading sunlight
We sat in the fading sunlight of the early evening.
■ verbs
▪ sunlight streams/pours somewhere (=a lot comes in)
Mabel pulled back the curtains, and sunlight streamed in.
▪ sunlight filters somewhere (=a little comes in)
The canopy of leaves allows some sunlight to filter through.
▪ something shines/sparkles/glitters etc in the sunlight
His newly polished buttons glittered in the sunlight.
■ phrases
▪ a shaft/ray/beam of sunlight
A shaft of sunlight illuminated the left side of his face.