{n. phr.} The very early hours of the morning between 1 and 4 A.M. * /My brother was in trouble for coming home in the small hours./ See: WEE HOURS.
The crack of dawn, or just before it, usually between 1 A.M. and 4 A.M. or 2 A.M. and 5 A.M. * /He stayed up all night when they were expecting their first child; finally, a boy was born in the wee hours of the morning./ Compare: SMALL HOURS.