early
adverb
in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc..
early
1 American
[ur-lee]
/ ˈɜr li /
adverb
earlier,
earliest
-
in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc..
early in the year.
-
in the early part of the morning.
to get up early.
-
before the usual or appointed time; ahead of time.
They came early and found their hosts still dressing.
-
far back in time.
The Greeks early learned to sail and navigate.
adjective
-
earlier,
comparative
-
earliest
superlative
-
occurring in the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc..
an early hour of the day.
- Synonyms:
- initial
-
occurring before the usual or appointed time.
an early dinner.
- Synonyms:
- premature, beforehand
-
belonging to a period far back in time.
early French architecture.
-
occurring in the near future.
I look forward to an early reply.
-
(of a fruit or vegetable) appearing or maturing before most others of its type.
early apples.
noun
-
earlies
plural
idioms
Early
2
American
[ur-lee]
/ ˈɜr li /
noun
early
British
/ ˈɜːlɪ /
adjective
-
before the expected or usual time
-
occurring in or characteristic of the first part of a period or sequence
-
occurring in or characteristic of a period far back in time
-
occurring in the near future
-
not before the time or date mentioned
-
too soon to tell how things will turn out
adverb
-
before the expected or usual time
-
near the first part of a period or sequence
I was talking to him earlier
early
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of early
First recorded before 950; Middle English erlich (adjective), erliche (adverb), Old English ǣrlīc, ǣrlīce, variant of ārlīc, ārlīce, from ār “soon, early” ( see ere) + līc(e) -ly
Explanation
Something that's early happens right at the beginning of some specific time period, or before you expect it to happen. An early party guest shows up before the party starts. An early riser gets up with the sun every morning, and you might eat an early dinner at five in the evening. If you're in your early twenties, you're closer to 20 than 30, while the early 20th century was the time period before 1950. If a baby comes early, she's born before her expected due date. The Old English source is ærlice, "early," which comes from ær, "soon" or "ere."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
However it could have a greater impact on the weather during autumn and early winter, with the increased potential for wet and stormy conditions across north-west Europe, including the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
One early deal: lending to a grocery-distribution center in North Carolina.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Crews were dispatched early Thursday morning and closed one lane of eastbound traffic in the area for the repairs, Figueroa said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, Pakistan's most popular politician, was moved to a hospital for medical tests on the orders of the Supreme Court, his political party said early Friday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“It’s early, but…” The words he isn’t saying are loud and heavy.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
She wrote: "Early indications are that the pain is very much improved - although I am still healing from the surgery itself so that also feels uncertain and frightening to admit - even to myself."
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Early studies show patients generally return to their typical eating habits after they stop taking the drugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Early on Wednesday, Moderna and Merck surprised investors when the two companies announced that their experimental therapeutic vaccine, which pairs Moderna’s intismeran autogene with Merck’s Keytruda, helped prevent the recurrence of melanoma in certain patients.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Early retirees can be particularly good at this.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Early in 1939, she began a two-year course at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
"The later crops, the second earlies, are more a concern, because they're at tuber initiation stage," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2023
Circumcising babies when they are at their earlies stage of development-imprinting every experience- is bad medicine.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 12, 2012
After Panetta met with the Washington Post’s David Ignatius earlies this month, the columnist wrote that “Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June.”
From Time ● Feb. 23, 2012
If you, like me, have long been befuddled by potato planting classifications – earlies, second earlies, maincrop, lates – this podcast is revelatory.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 2, 2010
He caught himself thinking, as he saw them, of Stock Exchanges, two-penny-tubes, Belgravia dinner parties, private views, "small and earlies," musical comedy, and all the rest of the dismal and meager program.
From The Centaur by Algernon Blackwood
“My person left a lot earlier than the body left,” Bullock said in the podcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Nelson, who presents a weekday afternoon show on Radio 2 and appears on 1Xtra late on a Sunday morning, celebrated 30 years at the BBC earlier this year.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The flight is part of a broader plan, announced by Liberian officials earlier this week, for the country to take up to 1,200 deportees in the next year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Aerial support crews, grounded by bad weather earlier in the week, hoped to keep operating until nightfall, when civil protection drones would take over the task of monitoring for "potential flare-ups," the governor's statement said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
He hurried through the woods toward the lake, following the path he had cleared earlier when he and Abby returned to camp.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Normally these organoids live for a few months, meaning they can only offer a window into the earliest stages of human brains, which take nearly 20 years to fully develop.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
U.S. carriers aren’t scheduled to resume services to Israel until the fall at the earliest, meaning that Americans have to find other ways to get there, often transiting through Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
National Highways said repairs to the A31 were not expected to be begin until Friday 14 August at the earliest.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
If it were possible to watch the earliest cells take shape, the scene may have involved two distinct forms of primitive cellular life.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Did you know that the song was written by one of our earliest graduates?
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.