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.
Edward would latch onto a tree a few hundred yards down river and hold tight until he was rescued at daybreak, a period that he described as a blur.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 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
On June 19, she rose hours before daybreak, dressed and went to her sister-in-law’s apartment.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025
The next morning at daybreak she went to see the rats.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
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.
