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
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.
They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival.
From Salon • May 7, 2026
"For operational reasons, I won't go into who may be arrested but obviously we're working very closely with Commonwealth authorities," New South Wales state police commissioner Mal Lanyon said on Thursday before their arrival.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
One of the biggest differences this season has been the arrival of manager Jeglertz.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Upon arrival, passengers and crew will be examined, treated if needed and then moved to their home countries.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
The dashboard's brass hourglass measured the time; twenty minutes until arrival.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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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.