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
Independence Day morning offers one of the best opportunities in decades, as the distant ice giant passes extraordinarily close to Mars in the predawn sky.
—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
3 July 2026
He was used to being alone without Robin and postretirement but being alone in the interminable stretch of predawn hours was a different sort of emptiness.
—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
The Las Vegas couple was at Zion, in southwest Utah, to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary when the 29-year-old woman fell 1,200 feet to her death during a predawn hike.
—
Bay Area News Group,
Mercury News,
24 June 2026
In 1972, Last Chance Grade crumbled in the predawn darkness, and a married couple died after their Ford sedan went over the cliff.
—
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for predawn
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
3 July 2026
He was used to being alone without Robin and postretirement but being alone in the interminable stretch of predawn hours was a different sort of emptiness.
—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
30 June 2026
The Las Vegas couple was at Zion, in southwest Utah, to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary when the 29-year-old woman fell 1,200 feet to her death during a predawn hike.
—
Bay Area News Group,
Mercury News,
24 June 2026
In 1972, Last Chance Grade crumbled in the predawn darkness, and a married couple died after their Ford sedan went over the cliff.
—
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 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 7 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
