early bird

American  

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of early bird

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

It was when it reported on matters of which I had zero awareness: my HRV balance, for example, or my chronotype, albeit a wishy-washy “late morning,” a designation I plan to flip to early bird.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

Some tracks may belong to meat eating predators, others to plant eating dinosaurs, and some have even raised questions about whether early bird species were involved.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

He claimed he had spent a year planning it, and had already sold 100 tickets at an "early bird" rate of $499.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025

Rick Miramontez is both a night owl and an early bird.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2024

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

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker