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Synonyms

crack of dawn

American  

noun

  1. the part of morning when light first appears in the sky.

crack of dawn Idioms  

  1. Very early morning, daybreak. For example, I got up at the crack of dawn. The crack in this term alludes either to the suddenness of sunrise or to the small wedge of light appearing as the sun rises over the horizon. Originally the term was usually put as crack of day. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They don’t leave until the crack of dawn.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

Around the crack of dawn, a line begins forming at a strip mall in Hyattsville, Maryland, as residents ranging from students to delivery workers and federal contractors wait to sign up for food assistance.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

Some shoppers say they got up at the crack of dawn to wait outside their local branches of the coffee chain, only to find they were too late.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Like when I say I sleep in late, that’s 6:30 or 7 a.m. because I like to get up at the crack of dawn.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2025

JP says his momma wakes him at the crack of dawn by turning gospel music on high, and he gets up and starts cleaning.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

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.