early on

adverb

: at or during an early point or stage

the reasons were obvious early on in the experiment

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

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Don’t head to sleep early on the star-splashed night skies, either. —

Stephanie Vermillion, Outside Online, 6 Nov. 2024 See the full list as announced early on Tuesday, November 5 below. —

Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2024 His odds had dropped to 53 percent by early on Sunday, just hours after one of the country's most accurate pollsters released a poll that shockingly showed Harris winning Iowa by 3 percentage points. —

Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024 However, early on in the season, Bay FC recorded a five-game losing streak, which meant the team dropped a total of 15 points. —

Jackie Gutierrez, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for early on