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

In the predawn darkness of Sept. 4, 2023, a passing truck driver saw a teenager lying in the fetal position on the side of an Oklahoma highway. —Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 14 May 2024

But tragedy struck the family again in the predawn hours of Thursday morning. —Omar Rodríguez Ortiz, Miami Herald, 11 May 2024

Authorities released the name of an 18-year-old Navy man from Riverside County who was killed last weekend in a predawn car crash on state Route 163 near Mission Valley. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2024

Emma had spent plenty of mornings with me on a deer stand—both of us shivering quietly in the predawn cold, watching the woods slowly brighten from tones of blue and gray to more vibrant shades of brown and gold. —Alice Jones Webb, Field & Stream, 8 May 2024

The massive ship stacked with cargo slammed into the bridge in the predawn darkness Tuesday, toppling the span and killing six construction workers. —Joshua Goodman and Richard Lardner, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024

And then, in the predawn hours of Feb. 14, Deputy Blackmon turned into a driveway, several miles from the Dorotik home, and noticed a body off the road. —Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2024

The predawn bridge collapsed, killed six construction workers, but as of early this morning, only two bodies have been recovered from the site. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024

Take a predawn hike among the rolling hills at Sky Meadows in Delaplane, try a family-friendly walk around the trails at Mason Neck in Lorton, or explore Wolf Trap with a Park Ranger. —Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above