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• early bird
  early bird

  noun

  a person who rises at an early hour.
• Early Bird
  Early Bird

  noun

  one of a number of communications satellites, the first of which was launched in 1965 into a stationary orbit and provided telephone channels between Europe and the US See also Intelsat

early bird

American  

noun

• early birds
  plural

1. a person who rises at an early hour.

2. a person who arrives before others, as for the purpose of gaining some advantage.

   The early birds got the best seats for the play.

3. (initial capital letters) the first of the Intelsat series of communications satellites, orbited (1965) by Intelsat.

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Early Bird ¹ British  

noun

1. one of a number of communications satellites, the first of which was launched in 1965 into a stationary orbit and provided telephone channels between Europe and the US See also Intelsat

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early bird ² British  

noun

1. informal a person who rises early or arrives in good time

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• early birds
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of early bird

First recorded in 1885–90

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

early bird Early Bird

Flavia: It was early bird without knowing who was going to play.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

This is a case of the early bird losing the worm.

From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026

I headed to the workshop, housed in an airy stone barn, and found I was not the lone early bird.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

We all know that the early bird gets the worm, but new research shows they turn to something far more nutritious for their breakfast.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese is classic.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

According to a report from The Daily Advocate & Early Bird News, Vance then claimed that school shootings are less common now than 15 to 20 years ago.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2024

My colleague, the woman-about-town, Jackie Varriano filed her dispatch about Early Bird and a stellar Hunan restaurant in the Houghton hood last week.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 5, 2022

The first significant step in Norman’s competitive career came in 1949, at the St. Thomas Golf and Country Club, a one-day amateur event later known as the Early Bird.

From Golf Digest ● Apr. 1, 2020

It goes off as the eighth race at 5:44 p.m., you know, meaning I won’t make the Early Bird dinner.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2019

Though the bridge was shut Early Bird steered confidently straight for the center, and it swung just in time, the boat shooting by with undiminished speed and rounding a point to the open water beyond.

From The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

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