arrival
Americannoun
-
the act or time of arriving
-
a person or thing that arrives or has arrived
-
the reaching of a condition or objective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of arrival
1350–1400; arrive + -al 2; replacing Middle English arivaille < Middle French
Explanation
An arrival is an entrance or an appearance — the act of showing up somewhere. Your arrival at your grandparents' house will no doubt be marked by great enthusiasm and many hugs. The process of arriving, or first getting to your destination, is arrival. Your sister's arrival at the airport might be delayed by bad weather, and your new kitten's arrival will be an exciting event for your whole family. Another kind of arrival is a person who's just arrived: "I easily picked her out from all the bus station arrivals."
Vocabulary lists containing arrival
List 3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -al, -ial
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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:
The fact Roc Nation also represent Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli - whose chances would be left severely limited by Vinicius' arrival - also makes for an intriguing subplot.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Letisha Lucas, a 33-year-old tourist from Canada -- which has its own wildfires happening -- said the smoke smell was immediately obvious on arrival in Madrid "and very irritating on the throat".
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
From the move away from formal courtship to the arrival of dating apps and now a generation asking more questions about who should make the first move.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
According to Homeland Security, members of the Trusted Traveler Program “use expedited clearance lanes on arrival at U.S. airports and when crossing international land and sea borders.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Daylight and the arrival of help brought most of the prophets back to their senses.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
One programme helped new arrivals learn the basics: 'Look, Listen and Speak', a BBC English learning series widely used at that time.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
"All European countries have recorded an increase in tourist arrivals, and there is no discernible trend linked to the heat," said Swedish professor Stefan Gossling, a tourism specialist.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
According to Home Office figures, 13,007 arrivals have been recorded this year.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
This is likely a promising buildup to the high season for Middle East patient arrivals in 3Q.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
“Savage!” called the first arrivals, as they alighted from their machine.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
