early
adverb
in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc..
early
1 American
[ur-lee]
/ ˈɜr li /
adverb
earlier,
earliest
-
in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc..
early in the year.
-
in the early part of the morning.
to get up early.
-
before the usual or appointed time; ahead of time.
They came early and found their hosts still dressing.
-
far back in time.
The Greeks early learned to sail and navigate.
adjective
-
earlier,
comparative
-
earliest
superlative
-
occurring in the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc..
an early hour of the day.
- Synonyms:
- initial
-
occurring before the usual or appointed time.
an early dinner.
- Synonyms:
- premature, beforehand
-
belonging to a period far back in time.
early French architecture.
-
occurring in the near future.
I look forward to an early reply.
-
(of a fruit or vegetable) appearing or maturing before most others of its type.
early apples.
noun
-
earlies
plural
idioms
Early
2
American
[ur-lee]
/ ˈɜr li /
noun
early
British
/ ˈɜːlɪ /
adjective
-
before the expected or usual time
-
occurring in or characteristic of the first part of a period or sequence
-
occurring in or characteristic of a period far back in time
-
occurring in the near future
-
not before the time or date mentioned
-
too soon to tell how things will turn out
adverb
-
before the expected or usual time
-
near the first part of a period or sequence
I was talking to him earlier
early
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of early
First recorded before 950; Middle English erlich (adjective), erliche (adverb), Old English ǣrlīc, ǣrlīce, variant of ārlīc, ārlīce, from ār “soon, early” ( see ere) + līc(e) -ly
Explanation
Something that's early happens right at the beginning of some specific time period, or before you expect it to happen. An early party guest shows up before the party starts. An early riser gets up with the sun every morning, and you might eat an early dinner at five in the evening. If you're in your early twenties, you're closer to 20 than 30, while the early 20th century was the time period before 1950. If a baby comes early, she's born before her expected due date. The Old English source is ærlice, "early," which comes from ær, "soon" or "ere."
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.
See Examples For:
"The SFA will not be voting for Gianni Infantino come the re-election in early 2027."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Barring any surprising or dramatic August data releases in early September, the Fed will stand pat, the team said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
For example, Energy Capital Partners, or ECP, early this year sold gas distributor Symmetry Energy Solutions to power company NextEra Energy Resources in a roughly $1.15 billion deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
“The Mandalorian” on Disney+ was an early adopter of the technology, using Unreal Engine to power virtual interactive sets displayed on massive LED walls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Probably I had frightened them by my early dashing about.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Early retirees can be particularly good at this.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Early Saturday, the river crested at nearly 25 feet in central Indiana—surpassing a record set in 1913, according to the National Water Prediction Service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Early in the fourth quarter, Smith returned a punt 40 yards to the Chiefs’ 23.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Early in her acting career, Davis appeared in an episode of The Detectives, the BBC comedy starring her father, and a 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Early in the second week of January, each member of Team Kyle received a thick envelope in the mail.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
"The later crops, the second earlies, are more a concern, because they're at tuber initiation stage," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2023
Circumcising babies when they are at their earlies stage of development-imprinting every experience- is bad medicine.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 12, 2012
After Panetta met with the Washington Post’s David Ignatius earlies this month, the columnist wrote that “Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June.”
From Time ● Feb. 23, 2012
If you, like me, have long been befuddled by potato planting classifications – earlies, second earlies, maincrop, lates – this podcast is revelatory.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 2, 2010
For the ultimate in earlies I suggest Red Gold.
From Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway by Steve Solomon
Niu Lai was a low-budget, lowkey production from the outset, and had received almost no publicity before its release earlier this month.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Industrial production rose 4.5% from a year earlier in July, slowing from the 5.3% increase for June, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Like a mass awakening, labels and executives began courting them, making offers that were unimaginable just a few years earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Musk touted his plan to build the 100-million-square-foot facility on X earlier this month, calling it “the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
I get there earlier than I normally would, so after I sign in, I go straight to the activity room.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
U.S. carriers aren’t scheduled to resume services to Israel until the fall at the earliest, meaning that Americans have to find other ways to get there, often transiting through Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The resulting sequence may reflect, at least in part, the order in which those reactions appeared during the earliest stages of biological evolution.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
This is not expected to be the case until Friday at the earliest.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Our Social Security at the earliest withdrawal date will be roughly $30,000 and we don’t plan on waiting.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Yelena remembers one of her earliest teachers talking about space, and ever since then Yelena has yearned to be closer to the stars.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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.
