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early on

adverb

Definition of early on

: at or during an early point or stage the reasons were obvious early on in the experiment
Using Early on: Usage Guide More Example Sentences Learn More about early on

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Using Early on: Usage Guide

This adverb is sometimes objected to in American writing as an obtrusive Briticism. It is a relative newcomer to the language, having arisen in British English around 1928. It seems to have filled a need, however. It came into frequent use in American English in the late 1960s and is now well established on both sides of the Atlantic in both speech and writing.

Examples of early on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 Though the Spartans were unable to capitalize on 37- and a 39-yard field goal attempt early on in the final quarter, the La Cañada defense forced a fumble on its 23 yard line with 3:03 left to turn the tide. — La Cañada Valley Sun, "La Cañada rallies to nonleague victory over Hacienda Heights Wilson in season opener," 22 Aug. 2019 And Tommy John surgery tends to rob pitchers of their control early on, even as Rosenthal is an extreme case. — Bradford William Davis, courant.com, "Yankees take flier on former All-Star Trevor Rosenthal," 20 Aug. 2019 Hickenlooper had some problems early on, hiring a new campaign manager following the first presidential debate in Miami. — Dan Sweeney, sun-sentinel.com, "John Hickenlooper ends his presidential campaign, 23 Democrats remain," 15 Aug. 2019 But early on, there’s often a vast discrepancy between the attention that is directed at the platform and the available information about the developing story. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "It’s time to end “trending” on Twitter," 13 Aug. 2019 There was talk, early on, of Elvis bringing back Sun sessions guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana for the Vegas run. — Geoff Edgers, Twin Cities, "The summer of 1969: When Elvis made his true comeback — Vegas-style," 9 Aug. 2019 Still, two starters missing on offense are creating headlines early on. — Matt Szabo, Daily Pilot, "Los Angeles Chargers open training camp in Costa Mesa," 25 July 2019 After 10 days at home, Woods arrived in Northern Ireland early on Sunday morning, and played 18-hole practice rounds on consecutive days. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc's Morning Line: It's big-boy baseball season and it's OK to wonder what if, Reds fans," 16 July 2019 Do these establish how immature and brash Kabir is early on? — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz India, "Dear woke India, where were you before Kabir Singh?," 28 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'early on.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of early on

1759, in the meaning defined above

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More from Merriam-Webster on early on

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with early on

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