early

¹ American  

[ur-lee] / ˈɜr li /

adverb

earlier, earliest

1. in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc..

   early in the year.

2. in the early part of the morning.

   to get up early.

3. before the usual or appointed time; ahead of time.

   They came early and found their hosts still dressing.

4. far back in time.

   The Greeks early learned to sail and navigate.

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adjective

earlier, earliest

1. 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

2. occurring before the usual or appointed time.

   an early dinner.

   Synonyms:

   premature , beforehand

3. belonging to a period far back in time.

   early French architecture.

4. occurring in the near future.

   I look forward to an early reply.

5. (of a fruit or vegetable) appearing or maturing before most others of its type.

   early apples.

noun

PLURAL

earlies

1. a fruit or vegetable that appears before most others of its type.

idioms

1. early on,  with but little time elapsed; early in the course of a process, project, etc.; early in the game.

Early ² American  

[ur-lee] / ˈɜr li /

noun

1. Jubal Anderson 1816–94, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.

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early British  

/ ˈɜːlɪ /

adjective

1. before the expected or usual time

2. occurring in or characteristic of the first part of a period or sequence

3. occurring in or characteristic of a period far back in time

4. occurring in the near future

5. not before the time or date mentioned

6. too soon to tell how things will turn out

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adverb

1. before the expected or usual time

2. near the first part of a period or sequence

   I was talking to him earlier

early More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing early

• bright and early

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Other Word Forms

• earliness noun

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” ( ere ) + līc(e) -ly

Example Sentences

The number fell to a few hundred by early afternoon, according to Downdetector, which monitors online services.

From The Wall Street Journal

Chesney mostly coached on the defensive side of the ball in his early stints as an assistant, rising to defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins.

From Los Angeles Times

Winds are expected to mostly subside by the early evening, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

The good news is he seems open to talking about his debt, seeing as he told you early how much he has.

From MarketWatch

In a study published earlier this year, Dudley and colleagues at Berkeley analyzed feathers from 17 bird species and found alcohol metabolites in 10 of them.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• beforehand
• briefly
• directly
• immediately
• prematurely
• previous
• promptly
• quick
• shortly
• soon
• too soon
• unexpectedly