Early definition

Early as an adjective

1. at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

   "early morning"

2. being or occurring at an early stage of development

   "in an early stage"

3. belonging to the distant past

   "the early inhabitants of Europe"

   Same sense: other, former

4. very young

   "at an early age"

5. 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."

6. expected in the near future

   "look for an early end to the negotiations"

Early as an adverb

7. during an early stage

   "early on in her career"

   Same sense: early on

8. before the usual time or the time expected

   "she graduated early"

   Same sense: too soon, ahead of time

9. in good time

   Same sense: betimes

Synonyms and antonyms

• other
• former definition
• early on
• too soon
• ahead of time
• betimes

Opposites: late, middle.

All synonyms of early, sense by sense

How to say early

Early has 2 syllables and rhymes with curly. Syllable counts and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary.

Words that rhyme with early

• curly
• hurley
• pearly
• surly
• burley
• girlie
• burly
• hurly

EARLY in word games

Scrabble

8

Words With Friends

8

Anagrams

3

Is EARLY a valid Scrabble word? Yes, it is in the ENABLE list most word games use. Check EARLY in the word checker, or unscramble EARLY to see its 3 anagrams and the shorter words in its letters.