Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for early

early

1

[ ur-lee ]

adverb

, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.
  1. in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc.:

    early in the year.

  2. in the early part of the morning:

    to get up early.

  3. before the usual or appointed time; ahead of time:

    They came early and found their hosts still dressing.

  4. far back in time:

    The Greeks early learned to sail and navigate.



adjective

, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.
  1. 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

  2. occurring before the usual or appointed time:

    an early dinner.

    Synonyms: premature, beforehand

  3. belonging to a period far back in time:

    early French architecture.

  4. occurring in the near future:

    I look forward to an early reply.

  5. (of a fruit or vegetable) appearing or maturing before most others of its type:

    early apples.

noun

, plural ear·lies.
  1. a fruit or vegetable that appears before most others of its type.

Early

2

[ ur-lee ]

noun

  1. Ju·bal Anderson [joo, -b, uh, l], 1816–94, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.

early

/ ˈɜːlɪ /

adjective

  1. before the expected or usual time
  2. occurring in or characteristic of the first part of a period or sequence
  3. occurring in or characteristic of a period far back in time
  4. occurring in the near future
  5. at the earliest
    not before the time or date mentioned
  6. early days
    too soon to tell how things will turn out


adverb

  1. before the expected or usual time
  2. near the first part of a period or sequence

    I was talking to him earlier

Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈearliness, noun

Discover More

Other Words From

  • earli·ness noun

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of early1

First recorded before 950; Middle English erlich (adjective), erliche (adverb), Old English ǣrlīc, ǣrlīce, variant of ārlīc, ārlīce, from ār “soon, early” ( ere ) + līc(e) -ly

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of early1

Old English ǣrlīce, from ǣr ere + -līce -ly ²; related to Old Norse arliga

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. early on, with but little time elapsed; early in the course of a process, project, etc.; early in the game.

More idioms and phrases containing early

  • bright and early

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement