arrival
Americannoun
-
the act or time of arriving
-
a person or thing that arrives or has arrived
-
the reaching of a condition or objective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of arrival
1350–1400; arrive + -al 2; replacing Middle English arivaille < Middle French
Explanation
An arrival is an entrance or an appearance — the act of showing up somewhere. Your arrival at your grandparents' house will no doubt be marked by great enthusiasm and many hugs. The process of arriving, or first getting to your destination, is arrival. Your sister's arrival at the airport might be delayed by bad weather, and your new kitten's arrival will be an exciting event for your whole family. Another kind of arrival is a person who's just arrived: "I easily picked her out from all the bus station arrivals."
Vocabulary lists containing arrival
List 3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -al, -ial
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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:
United gave his coveted number 10 shirt to new arrival Matheus Cunha.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Conducting a tour last month before the arrival of any students, she delights in countless design details.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Of the 60 principal, background and stunt performers, each had four to five changes from arrival to reception — mostly vintage pieces with some custom builds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Aedes albopictus, a much more recent arrival, now has a range that stretches well into New England and the lower Great Lakes and has even been found to overwinter in the Midwest.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Dasch maintained that he had always planned on turning himself in from the moment he realized returning to Nazi Germany was a mistake, which was soon after his arrival.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
There’s a mild fog of envy in the air as the early arrivals at the restaurant await Nick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Total passenger arrivals in Thailand fell by 3% on year as of July 25th, compared with June’s 8% drop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The influx is one of the largest migrant arrivals ever recorded in Ceuta, sparking an international crisis for Madrid and drawing criticism from Germany, Italy and Finland.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Newer immigrant arrivals tend to have more access to specific temporary or humanitarian pathways that provide immigration relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Savage!” called the first arrivals, as they alighted from their machine.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
