"early" meaning in English

See early in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈɜːli/ [UK], /ˈɝli/ [US] Audio: en-us-early.ogg [US], en-uk-early.ogg [UK] Forms: early [positive], earlier [comparative], earliest [superlative]
Head templates: {{adj|early|earlier|earliest}} [POS TABLE]
  1. If something is early, it is sooner than expected. Synonyms: premature
    Sense id: simple-early-en-adj-dcTr1eN5
  2. If something is early, it happens in the first part of a time period.
    Sense id: simple-early-en-adj-TvMF4jD7

Adverb

IPA: /ˈɜːli/ [UK], /ˈɝli/ [US] Audio: en-us-early.ogg [US], en-uk-early.ogg [UK]
  1. sooner than expected. Synonyms: premature
    Sense id: simple-early-en-adv-Ke4vWHb1
  2. During the first part of a time period.
    Sense id: simple-early-en-adv-NESa4W9K
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "early",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earlier",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earliest",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "early",
        "2": "earlier",
        "3": "earliest"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "It was an early end to the meeting."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is early, it is sooner than expected."
      ],
      "id": "simple-early-en-adj-dcTr1eN5",
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "premature"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He didn't like going to the early classes."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is early, it happens in the first part of a time period."
      ],
      "id": "simple-early-en-adj-TvMF4jD7"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɜːli/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɝli/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "early"
}

{
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He was at the meeting early."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "sooner than expected."
      ],
      "id": "simple-early-en-adv-Ke4vWHb1",
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "premature"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She got up early in the morning."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "During the first part of a time period."
      ],
      "id": "simple-early-en-adv-NESa4W9K"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɜːli/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɝli/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "early"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "early",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earlier",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "earliest",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "early",
        "2": "earlier",
        "3": "earliest"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "It was an early end to the meeting."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is early, it is sooner than expected."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "premature"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He didn't like going to the early classes."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is early, it happens in the first part of a time period."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɜːli/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɝli/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "early"
}

{
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He was at the meeting early."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "sooner than expected."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "premature"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "late"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She got up early in the morning."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "During the first part of a time period."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɜːli/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈɝli/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-early.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "early"
}

Download raw JSONL data for early meaning in English (1.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-13 from the simplewiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (4ba5975 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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