predawn

adjective

pre·​dawn ˌprē-ˈdȯn 

-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

The base of the light cone will start near Cancer, resting just above the horizon, stretching upward through Gemini, and reaching high into the predawn sky toward Taurus. — Jules-Pierre Malartre, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Travel from Heathrow was severely disrupted in March last year when a massive fire at an electricity substation caused a predawn power outage at the global transport hub. — Henry Austin, NBC news, 8 Sep. 2026

Meteor activity typically builds throughout the night, often reaching its highest levels in the predawn hours, according to EarthSky. — Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026

With Jupiter returning to the predawn sky, a comet lingering and the possibility of a nova explosion, August offers almost every major kind of celestial event in a single month. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for predawn

• anton
• argon
• axon
• baronne
• baryon
• baton
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon