Meanings
- Daybreak.
at the break of day
5 more examples
Haply I think on thee, and then my state, Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate.
1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet XXIX”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLCWell, with break of day she wakes and sits up in bed.
1897, James M. Barrie, chapter 5, in Margaret Ogilvy"You've got to rise 'fore break of day If you want to fool old Mr. Jay."
1920, Thornton W. Burgess, chapter 6, in The Adventures of Unc' Billy PossumBecause tonight I intend to play / And if you listen by the break of day / You might even say / Hey, yeah
1981, L.T.D., “Kickin' Back”, in Love MagicWholesale buyers and curious onlookers pack Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market at the break of day.
2001 August 6, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, “Wailing Over Whales”, in TimeSynonyms: break of dawn, daybreak
Synonyms & antonyms
nounDaybreak.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe first light of day
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
break of day. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20of%20day
“break of day.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20of%20day. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “break of day,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20of%20day.
Source: break of day on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.