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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

Etymology

Origin of early bird

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

early bird Early Bird

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

From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026

We live in a society that values hard work, where we’ve been told since we were small children that “the early bird gets the worm.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 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

Luckily, Anna’s an early bird, so I can head straight to Starbucks after dropping Mom off at work.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

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

Just across 68th Street is Early Bird Cafe, housed in a former bubble tea spot and open just two months.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 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

Cancel your reservation for the Early Bird Dinner as Del Mar has its Friday first post of 4 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2019

Ah b'lieve, sah," said Early Bird presently, hauling in the sheet, "we might let the sail down heah.

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