daybreak
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of daybreak
Explanation
Daybreak is the moment in the morning when the sun begins to rise. If you want to see the sunrise over the ocean, you have to wake up well before daybreak. Daybreak can also be called "sunrise," "dawn," or "the break of day." It's the very first glimpse of sunlight you see in the morning, which happens very early in the summertime and later in winter. Bus drivers, morning radio hosts, and bakers often have to rise before daybreak in order to get to work on time. The break part of the word comes from the Old English root brecan, which means "shatter," but also "burst forth."
Vocabulary lists containing daybreak
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.
"You are like the wind at daybreak, you are like a cherished vision," he sings in a direct address to the horse, named Rovach.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
When signals resumed before daybreak some 10 hours later, the bulk carrier was far south of the strait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
Around 70 people braved the cold to queue outside the West Kowloon court at daybreak, while dozens of journalists gathered outside the building's entrance.
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026
At least 84 of the victims - 56 adults and 28 children - died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2025
By daybreak, Roosevelt had only one thought on his mind.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
