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

While the shower is best viewed during the night and predawn hours, activity typically begins around 9 or 10 p.m., according to NASA. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024

But weather cleared enough for a misty predawn launch at 5:23 a.m. taking Isaacman and three crewmates on a five-day trip to space that seeks to feature the first-ever commercial spacewalk. —Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Sep. 2024

The four victims, along with tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch – who had organized the yacht trip to celebrate a recent legal victory – were found in a cabin on the port, or left side of the hull, after the Bayesian capsized and sank within about 16 minutes of being hit by a predawn storm on Aug. 19. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 5 Sep. 2024

In the predawn dark of a rainy morning, traffic on southbound routes out of Beirut, along with roads leading to Baalbek and the Bekaa Valley, were already jammed to a standstill. —Rania Abouzeid, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above