Princeton's WordNet

1. early(adj)

   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"

2. early(adj)

   being or occurring at an early stage of development

   "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"

3. early(a), former(a), other(a)(adj)

   belonging to the distant past

   "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times"

4. early(adj)

   very young

   "at an early age"

5. early(adj)

   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"

6. early(adverb)

   expected in the near future

   "look for an early end to the negotiations"

7. early on, early(adverb)

   during an early stage

   "early on in her career"

8. early, ahead of time, too soon(adverb)

   before the usual time or the time expected

   "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"

9. early, betimes(adverb)

   in good time

   "he awoke betimes that morning"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

1. early(adjective)ˈɜr li

   ≠ late

   early November/January; It's too early to make a decision.

2. earlyˈɜr li

   ≠ late

   I got there 30 minutes early.; He got on an earlier flight.

3. earlyˈɜr li

   first or one of the first; = initial

   Early cars had few safety features; an early version of his novel

4. early(adverb)ˈɜr li

   ≠ late

   Let's go earlier to avoid traffic.

5. earlyˈɜr li

   ≠ late

   flowers that can be planted early

6. earlyˈɜr li

   ≠ late

   Sign up early to avoid disappointment.

7. earlyˈɜr li

   in the first part of a period or process

   I think I mentioned that earlier.

8. earlyˈɜr li

   in the first part of a period or process

   I knew early on that I wasn't happy.

Wiktionary

1. early(Noun)

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

2. early(Adverb)

   At a time before expected; sooner than usual.

   We finished the project an hour sooner than scheduled, so we left early.

3. early(Adjective)

   At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.

4. early(Adjective)

   Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on-time.

5. early(Adjective)

   Near the start or beginning.

Origin: From erly, erli, ærlice, from ær + adverbial suffix -lice. Cognate with Old Norse árla ( > Danish and Norwegian årle, Swedish arla)

Webster Dictionary

1. Early(adverb)

   soon; in good season; seasonably; betimes; as, come early

2. Early(adverb)

   in advance of the usual or appointed time; in good season; prior in time; among or near the first; -- opposed to late; as, the early bird; an early spring; early fruit

3. Early(adverb)

   coming in the first part of a period of time, or among the first of successive acts, events, etc

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