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
Two motorists were killed Friday on Interstate 5 near San Diego International Airport in a predawn crash involving two SUVs, including one heading north on the southbound side of the freeway.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
In the dark, predawn hours of December 3, 1984, a dense cloud of poisonous gas leaked from a pesticide plant and, borne on a soft, northern wind, enveloped Bhopal, a city in central India.
—Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 23 May 2026
Two children and two adults are dead after a fire set a West Englewood house ablaze in the predawn hours Wednesday morning.
—Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 20 May 2026
The Turkish Airlines flight was scheduled to depart Islamabad in the predawn hours of Friday, April 10.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for predawn
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City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
In the dark, predawn hours of December 3, 1984, a dense cloud of poisonous gas leaked from a pesticide plant and, borne on a soft, northern wind, enveloped Bhopal, a city in central India.
—Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 23 May 2026
Two children and two adults are dead after a fire set a West Englewood house ablaze in the predawn hours Wednesday morning.
—Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 20 May 2026
The Turkish Airlines flight was scheduled to depart Islamabad in the predawn hours of Friday, April 10.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 13 May 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 4 Jun. 2026.
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