to come to a certain point in the course of travel; reach one's destination.
He finally arrived in Rome.
to come to be near or present in time.
The moment to act has arrived.
to attain a position of success, power, achievement, fame, or the like.
After years of hard work, she has finally arrived in her field.
Archaic. to happen.
It arrived that the master had already departed.
to come to a certain place during or after a journey; reach a destination
(foll by at) to agree upon; reach
to arrive at a decision
to occur eventually
the moment arrived when pretence was useless
informal (of a baby) to be born
informal to attain success or gain recognition
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English a(r)riven, from Old French a(r)river, from Vulgar Latin arrīpāre (unrecorded) “to come to land,” verb derivative of Latin ad rīpam “to the riverbank”; cf. river 1
First recorded in 1920–25; from French: literally, “arrived,” noun use of past participle of arriver “to arrive”; see arrive
To arrive is to come to a destination. When you arrive in Paris, the first thing you should do is go and buy a croissant. The word arrive generally means to come to a physical destination, like a place. Make sure you arrive home on time for dinner! But it can also be less literal. You can arrive at a conclusion or a decision after much thought. You can also use arrive to mean "achieve great success," though for whatever reason, this specific usage tends to be in the past tense. If you serve champagne and caviar at a party, your snobby aunt might comment, "My dear, you’ve arrived!” In this case, arrive means to come to a place of great wealth or success.
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Arrive early if you can — the relaxation areas are well worth spending time in before your treatment.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026
The universal advice for all things Coachella is simple: Arrive early.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024
Moira: A note for those visiting the Starlight Room: Arrive early, so as to pick your favorite couch or squishy armchair!
From Seattle Times • Jul. 22, 2023
Services like Arrive Outdoors and OutdoorsGeek allow occasional campers to rent gear.
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2023
He turns up in Toronto to give a lecture, at a conference, notifying me in advance with a postcard of a statue of Paul Revere, from Boston: Arrive Sun. 12th.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
