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.
By daybreak, residents were returning to their damaged homes to salvage some belongings before they collapsed completely.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
At daybreak on a recent morning, travelers heading to Havana had suitcases full of survival goods at Miami International Airport, where the squeak of plastic-wrapping machines for baggage echoed throughout the terminal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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
J'ouvert, which means "daybreak" or "opening of the day" in French Creole, marks the start of the Carnival celebrations across the Bank Holiday weekend.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2025
They left Orrimy at daybreak, and that day Ged thought he could never keep up his work.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
