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earliest

/ˈɝ.li.ɪst/adjective, adverb3 syllables

Earliest means: at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time.

Synonyms for earliest41

adjective, as in at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

early, aboriginal, primal, primeval, primaeval, primordial, advance, beforehand, archean, archaean, archeozoic, archaeozoic, azoic, earlier
and 9 more, earlyish, premature, untimely, previous, proterozoic, proto, wee, first, 1st

adjective, as in being or occurring at an early stage of development

early, archaic, primitive, new, young, crude, rude, embryonic, embryotic, incipient, inchoate, precocious

adjective, as in belonging to the distant past

early, former, other, past

adjective, as in very young

early, young, immature

adjective, as in (comparative and superlative of ‘early’) more early than; most early

earlier, early

adjective, as in of an early stage in the development of a language or literature

early, Old

adjective, as in expected in the near future

early, future

adverb, as in with the least delay

soonest

Opposites of earliest

middle, late

What does earliest mean?8

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”

4

very young“at an early age”

5

(comparative and superlative of ‘early’) more early than; most early“a fashion popular in earlier times”

6

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.”

7

expected in the near future“look for an early end to the negotiations”

adverb

1

with the least delay“the soonest I can arrive is 3 P.M.”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Earliest in a sentence

  • In my family, the one who gets up earliest is my mother.tabular
  • Voyages of exploration were the earliest in the history of studying the ocean.kleberlucas
  • May we ask you to remit the settlement in full at your earliest convenience?LiborSupcik
  • I'll meet him at the earliest opportunity possible.CM
  • The meeting will be held next week at the earliest.CM
  • Who gets up the earliest in your family?CK
  • Please estimate your best price and the earliest delivery date.unknown
  • I'll talk to him at the earliest possible moment.CK

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.