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
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
Christine Schultz
… stepping out into the quiet pre-dawn, closing the door.
—Bryan Burrough
Bryan Burrough
Examples of predawn in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet there is still no permanent memorial to what happened in the predawn hours of June 12, 2016, at the Pulse nightclub.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2026
The explosion happened in the predawn hours at the Dali nightclub in the province of Trujillo along Peru’s northern coast, according to a statement from the local Emergency Operations Center.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Dress warmly for predawn temperatures and test your optics before the most dramatic stages begin.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Willy Ngoma, a senior officer who was deeply involved in M23's operations in eastern Congo, was said to have been killed in a predawn drone strike near the North Kivu province’s mining town of Rubaya.
—ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for predawn
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Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2026
The explosion happened in the predawn hours at the Dali nightclub in the province of Trujillo along Peru’s northern coast, according to a statement from the local Emergency Operations Center.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Dress warmly for predawn temperatures and test your optics before the most dramatic stages begin.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Willy Ngoma, a senior officer who was deeply involved in M23's operations in eastern Congo, was said to have been killed in a predawn drone strike near the North Kivu province’s mining town of Rubaya.
—ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for predawn
Cite this Entry
“Predawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predawn. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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