early

Meanings

Plural: earlies

Adjective

• at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
  • "early morning"
  • "an early warning"
  • "early diagnosis"
  • "an early death"
  • "took early retirement"
  • "an early spring"
  • "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties"
• being or occurring at an early stage of development
  • "in an early stage"
  • "early forms of life"
  • "early man"
  • "an early computer"
• of an early stage in the development of a language or literature
  • "the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C."
  • "Early Modern English is represented in documents printed from 1476 to 1700"

Adjective Satellite

• belonging to the distant past
  • "the early inhabitants of Europe"
• very young
  • "at an early age"
• expected in the near future
  • "look for an early end to the negotiations"

Adverb

• during an early stage
  • "early on in her career"
• before the usual time or the time expected
  • "she graduated early"
• in good time

Adj

• At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.
• Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time.
• After but close to the start of a period of time.
• In the starting hours of the day.
• Having begun to occur; in its early stages.
• Of a star or class of stars, hotter than the sun.

Noun

• A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place early in the day.

Adv

• At a time before expected; sooner than usual.
• Soon; in good time; seasonably.

Synonyms

ahead of time, betimes, early, early doors, early on, first, former, other, premature, prematurely, too soon

Antonyms

late, mid, middle, tardily, terminal

Related Words

premature

Anagrams of early