What does “early” mean?
- 1
adjectivehappening near the beginning of a period of time
We left in the early morning.
- 2
adverbbefore the usual or expected time
The bus arrived ten minutes early.
Early at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective & adverb
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈɜrli/ · UR-lee
- Forms
- earlier, earliest
How to use “early” correctly
“Early” is both an adjective and an adverb, so don’t say “earlily”: “She came early.”
Common phrases with “early”
- early on
- get up early
- early bird
- in the early 1990s
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
Idioms with “early”
- The early bird catches the worm: People who act early or arrive first have the best chance of success.
“early” is on these word lists
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