predawn

[pree-dawn, pree-]

noun

1. the period immediately preceding dawn.

adjective

1. noting the time immediately prior to dawn.

Word History and Origins

Origin of predawn¹

First recorded in 1945–50; pre- + dawn

Example Sentences

In the predawn blackness, the Guadalupe River, which drains from the Hill Country, rose by more than 26 vertical feet in just 45 minutes, jumping its banks and hurtling downstream, killing 109 people, including at least 27 children at a summer camp located inside a federally designated floodway.

From Salon

No more than 10 minutes earlier — and less than two miles up Corbin Avenue — Arenas had just wrapped up a predawn workout at the DSTRKT, a gym in Chatsworth, where he’d been working his way up to 10,000 shots that week.

From Los Angeles Times

From there, he and the rest of the group sat for hours on the tarmac in front of a military plane in the predawn dark, unsure what was going to happen.

From Los Angeles Times

At the time of the predawn takeover, the defendants ranged in age from 19 to 32 and included both current Stanford students and graduates.

From Los Angeles Times

The predawn scenes have a fragmented, almost experimental editing style.

From Los Angeles Times