at the break of dawn Definition

dawn
noun

1. The time of day when light first appears as the sun rises.

Thesaurus: morning, sunrise, daybreak, daylight, sun-up (US), aurora;Antonym: dusk, sundown, sunset.
2. The beginning of (a new period of time, etc).

Thesaurus: beginning, outset, onset, origin, birth, genesis, inception, start, rise, advent, emergence, dawning.

verb

dawned, dawning
1. Said of the day: to begin; to become light.
2. (of a new era, condition, etc.) to begin to emerge

Thesaurus: start, begin, develop, emerge, appear, occur, open, unfold, rise.

Idiom: at the break of dawn

At the first light of day when the sun rises.

Etymology: 13c first recorded as noun dawning; the verb first recorded 15c and the noun 16c: originally probably from Norse; related to day.

Phrasal Verb: dawn on someone

To begin to be realized by them.