Meaning & use
early
Happening or arriving before the expected, usual, or planned time.
See it in a sentence
We arrived early and had to wait twenty minutes before the doors opened.
Early symptoms of the illness are often mild and easy to overlook.
A note on using this word
Early can modify a noun as an adjective (early morning) or a verb as an adverb (arrived early); the form stays the same in both uses.
Words with a similar meaning
ahead of timepremature
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
lateoverdue
Make it your own
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