earlier; earliest
earlier; earliest
Learner's definition of EARLY
1
: at or near the beginning of a period of time or a process, activity, series, etc.在初期;在早期 -
Early in his career he moved to the city.他在事业起步的时候搬到了这座城市。
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a word first recorded early in the 17th century于17世纪初首次被记载下来的单词
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They were trailing by a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.第四节开始时,他们落后一次达阵。
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We learned early [=early on] not to question his decisions.我们早就学会了不去质疑他的决定。
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The package should be arriving early next week.包裹应该在下周初送到。
— opposite late 2
: before the usual or expected time提早;提前 -
She arrived early to help with the preparations.她提前到达帮助做些准备工作。
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I got up early to finish packing.我提前起床打好包。
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I got up bright and early. [=very early]我一大早就起床了。
— opposite late
early on
: at or during an early point or stage早期;初期 ◊ Early on originated in British English. Some American writers have objected to it, but it is now very common in the U.S. Note that unlike early, early on can appear at the beginning of a sentence.*early on起源于英国英语,一些美国作家反对使用这一短语,不过现在该短语在美国也很常用。注意,与early不同的是,early on可以用在句首。
2 early /ˈɚli/ adjective
earlier; earliest
earlier; earliest
Learner's definition of EARLY
1
a : existing or happening near the beginning of a period of time早期的;初期的;起初的 -
early morning清晨
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the early 20th century*20世纪初
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He is in his early thirties. [=he is about 31 or 32 years old]他三十岁出头。
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She works the early shift. [=the shift that is in the early part of the day]她上早班。
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It was still early (in the morning) when she got out of bed.她起床时天色还早。
— opposite late b always used before a noun : happening near the beginning of a process, activity, series, etc.(发生在)早期的,初期的 -
the early symptoms of the disease这种疾病的早期症状
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the composer's early works [=works created at the beginning of the composer's career]这位作曲家的早期作品
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The early part of the book is better than the later part.这本书前面比后面写得好
2
a : coming or happening before the usual or expected time(比预定时间)提前的,提早的 — opposite late b : doing something before the usual time or before others usually do(比别人)提早的,早的 ◊ The expression the early bird catches/gets the worm means that people who start or arrive before others are more likely to succeed.
— opposite late 早起的鸟儿有虫吃;捷足先登
early days (yet)
British
—
used to say that it is too soon to know how something will turn out言之过早;为时尚早
get/make an early start
: to get started on a journey, activity, etc., early in the day一早开始
make an early night of it
: to go home or go to bed early早回家;早就寝