DictionaryAI

arrive

verb
uh-RYV/əˈɹaɪv/

Formsarrives, arriving, arrived

7 meanings of arrive

Practice

  1. 1
    get thereverbintransitive
    To reach a place at the end of a journey; to get to a destination.

    Thousands of fans arrive early to get good seats.

    Her letter arrived three days late.

    UsageUse at for a building or point, in for a city or country: arrive in Paris (not incorrect: arrive to Paris). Just arrive home.

  2. 2
    time comesverbintransitive
    Of a moment or period of time, to come or begin.

    The day of reckoning will arrive sooner than they expect.

    Spring arrived weeks ahead of schedule.

    Similarcome, dawn

    Oppositepass

  3. 3
    happenverbintransitive
    To come about; to occur as an event or development.

    Opportunities arrive when you least expect them.

    A turning point arrived midway through the negotiations.

    Similaroccur, arise, happen, emerge, materialize

    Note

    Here an event, not a traveler, does the arriving, and in older English the person it falls on could be named with to. Edmund Waller writes "Happy! to whom this glorious death arrives" in Instructions to a Painter (1666). Read it as happen to or befall: the event reaches someone the way a traveler reaches a place.

  4. 4
    reach a decisionverbintransitive
    To come to a judgment, an answer or an agreement with others, especially as the result of thinking or discussion; followed by at.

    The committee needs more data before it can arrive at a decision.

    Negotiators arrived at a compromise late on Friday night.

    UsageTakes at: arrive at a decision, an answer, a compromise. Reach a decision means the same, with no at.

    Similarreach

  5. 5
    succeedverbintransitive
    To reach a position of success, recognition, or fame.

    Directors know they have arrived when critics start quoting them.

    He felt he would finally arrive once the gallery showed his work.

    UsageUsually with nothing after it, and often in the perfect: you know you have arrived when critics quote you.

    Similarsucceed

    Oppositefail

    Note

    A phrase can mark the arena, as in arrived on Broadway, or arrived socially. Donald Cole uses that phrase of the Irish in Immigrant City (1963), where the proof was fewer newspaper stories accusing them of brawling.

Less common meanings

  1. 6
    be bornverbintransitive
    Of a baby, to be born and enter the world.

    The baby is due to arrive in early March.

    Their daughter arrived three weeks early but healthy.

    Similarcome

  2. 7
    orgasmverbslangvulgarIrelandUKintransitive
    To achieve orgasm; to climax sexually.

    UsageTakes no at and no place, which is why an innocent line like arrived too soon can be heard this way.

    Similarclimax, come

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Middle English arriven, from Old French ariver, which goes back to the Early Medieval Latin adrīpāre ("to land, come ashore"). That word derived from Latin rīpa ("shore, river-bank"), and it displaced the native English words oncome and tocome.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • Arrive comes from Middle English arriven, from Old French ariver. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old French ariver derives from Early Medieval Latin adrīpāre, meaning to land or come ashore. en.wiktionary.org
  • Adrīpāre derives from Latin rīpa, meaning shore or river-bank. en.wiktionary.org
  • Arrive displaced the native English words oncome and tocome. en.wiktionary.org