before dawn
Night's final hours
Before dawn is the period of darkness just before sunrise, when night is ending but daylight hasn't arrived.
It suggests early rising, quiet activity, or things happening while most people sleep: They left before dawn to beat the traffic.
The phrase often carries connotations of stealth, urgency, or industriousness.
- early morningFirst hours of day
- first lightEarliest morning brightness
- vigilPurposeful nighttime wakefulness
- dark thirtyHour before dawn
- small hoursPeriod after midnight
awakening · dew · cockcrow · rooster crow · mist · stillness · moonlight · starlight · morning star · frost · sunrise · darkness · night owl · early riser · matins · coolness · circadian rhythm · midnight
time of day relative to sunrise
before dawnmorning
Day's early hours
daybreak · daylight · sunup · broad daylight · midmorning
position within the day-night cycle
before dawnevening
Late day period
nightfall · sundown · late afternoon · twilight · dusk