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

Kinard Shirley was an independent soul, spending a day with his mother on his birthday and rising in the predawn hours to land a construction job. —Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2025

The most famous local dance performance is of the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic, but how does this fit into a Muslim country where mosques sound the predawn calls to prayer seemingly on every block? —Scott Mowbray Amrita Chandradas, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025

That was before a series of both weather and technical issues delayed the launch, which Blue Origin finally managed to pull off in the predawn hours. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025

The second new moon of December will occur at 5:27 p.m. ET (2227 GMT) on Dec. 30, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, two days after the waning moon passes by Mercury in the predawn sky. —Jesse Emspak, Space.com, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above