predawn

adjective

pre·​dawn ˌprē-ˈdȯn How to pronounce predawn (audio)
-ˈdän
variants or less commonly pre-dawn
: existing or occurring before dawn
a predawn attack
the predawn hours
… the gigantic telescope started scanning the predawn sky.Howard Blum
predawn noun
or less commonly pre-dawn
plural predawns also pre-dawns
The most bone-chilling predawns create the sharpest sunrises. Christine Schultz
… stepping out into the quiet pre-dawn, closing the door. Bryan Burrough

Examples of predawn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the early predawn hours of Friday, May 16, no sheriff's deputy was assigned to the part of the jail where the escaped inmates were incarcerated, and a civilian worker monitoring the area had briefly stepped away to get food, according to the sheriff's office. Alex Sundby, CBS News, 21 May 2025 Early risers will also get a chance to find the moon descending close to the southwestern horizon in the predawn hours of May 13, as the planetary trio of Saturn, Venus and Neptune rise in the eastern sky. Anthony Wood, Space.com, 9 May 2025 To many foreign leaders, who grew up in a world cushioned by the postwar alliances and multilateral institutions created by the United States, the president’s approach has landed with the unsettling thud of a predawn visit at the door. Mark Landler, New York Times, 1 May 2025 But supporters of permanent standard time counter that later sunrises on winter mornings would be downright dangerous for millions of children who would need to get to school in predawn darkness. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for predawn

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of predawn was in 1883

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Predawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predawn. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!