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
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.
Even as the storm weakened, the center of Isaias’s remnant circulation was located near Montgomery, Alabama, during the predawn hours Saturday. — Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2026 Just such an October weather pattern occurred 61 years ago, obscuring predawn views of the spectacular Comet Ikeya-Seki for most observers east of the Mississippi — an ironic fate for the most brilliant comet of the 20th century. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Two of the massacres happened in the space of a few hours late Saturday night and in the predawn hours of Sunday. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026 Travel from Heathrow was severely disrupted in March last year when a massive fire at an electricity substation caused a predawn power outage at the global transport hub. — Henry Austin, NBC news, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for predawn

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of predawn was in 1883

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Predawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predawn. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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