the rise or ascent of the sun above the horizon in the morning.
the atmospheric and scenic phenomena accompanying this.
the time when half the sun has risen above the horizon.
the open or beginning stage of any period.
the daily appearance of the sun above the horizon
the atmospheric phenomena accompanying this appearance
Also called (esp US): sunup. the time at which the sun rises at a particular locality
(modifier) of or relating to sunrise industry
sunrise technology
sunrise sector
1300–50; Middle English, short for sunrising ( see sun, rise, -ing 1)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Interestingly, the longest day of the year does not necessarily coincide with the earliest sunrise or latest sunset.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2026
Shopkeepers open before sunrise and shut between noon and 4pm.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Just after sunrise, we drove through more fog, our headlights only making the visibility worse.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
The piece will run about seven hours from sundown to sunrise, 365 days a year, just across the street from Jeff Koons’ monumental topiary sculpture “Split-Rocker.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
The dirt is hard—no way I can dig through by sunrise.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
