# earlier

Pronunciation: US say "UR-lee-ur" /ˈɝliɚ/; UK say "UR-lee-uh" /ˈɜː.lɪə/

## Adverb

1. At a time before now, or before a particular point already referred to in the past.
   - Simple: At a time before now, or before another point in the past.
   - _She had mentioned the problem earlier, long before it became urgent._
   - _As I explained earlier, the meeting has been moved to Friday afternoon._
3. Comparative form of early: sooner, at a time before another time or before the usual or expected one. — comparative form of early: more early
   - Simple: Comparative form of early: at a time before another time, or before the usual or expected time.
   - _The flowers bloomed earlier this year because of the warm spring._
   - _He finished the race earlier than anyone expected._

## Adjective

2. Occurring or existing before another point in time; belonging to a period that came before the present one.
   - Simple: Happening or existing at a time before another one.
   - _An earlier version of the software had far fewer features._
   - _Records from an earlier century describe the same flooding pattern._
4. Comparative form of early: closer to the beginning of a day, period, or process than something else. — comparative form of early: more early
   - Simple: Comparative form of early. Use it to compare which of two things came first.
   - _She booked an earlier flight to make the connection._
   - _The earlier deadline left the team with very little time._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/earlier (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).