earliest

earliest — noun

1. the earliest possible time, day, or moment at which an event can happen or a tas

1.nounB2
Definition

the earliest possible time, day, or moment at which an event can happen or a task can be completed, often used after stating a minimum deadline

Example

Bao told the team that the report would be ready by Friday at the earliest.

at the earliest — sets minimum deadline

The earliest Hiro can arrive at the airport is 6:30 in the morning.

the earliest + can + verb + is + time

Common collocations
  • at the earliest
  • the earliest possible
  • by [time/date] at the earliest
  • the earliest [someone] can [do something]
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • latest

    used in the same pattern — 'at the latest' shows the latest acceptable time

Grammar Patterns

the earliest + [someone] + can + [verb]

at the earliest

the earliest possible + [noun]

Usage Note

Almost always used with the definite article 'the'. Commonly appears in two patterns: (1) 'at the earliest' after a time expression to indicate a minimum possible time, and (2) 'the earliest + subject + can + verb' as the subject of a clause. The noun cannot be used without a preceding determiner.

Common Mistakes

Earliest we can meet is Tuesday.
The earliest we can meet is Tuesday.
'earliest' as a noun always needs the definite article 'the' before it.
I will finish it at my earliest.
I will finish it at the earliest possible time.
'my earliest' is not a standard noun phrase; use 'at the earliest' or 'as soon as possible' instead.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three expressions refer to a time boundary, but they are not interchangeable. 'The earliest' (as a noun) names the soonest moment something can occur — it is a lower bound, not a fixed point. 'Soonest possible time' is a more informal paraphrase of the same idea but is rarely used as a compact noun phrase. 'Minimum date' is more formal and often appears in contracts or project timelines. 'Deadline' is the opposite in function: it marks the latest acceptable time, not the earliest. For example, 'The earliest I can submit the report is Friday' sets a floor, whereas 'The deadline is Friday' sets a ceiling.

soonest possible timeminimum datedeadline ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the earliest date
  • the earliest time
  • the earliest moment

Phrases

  • at the earliest
  • the earliest possible

Prepositions

  • at the earliest
  • by [time] at the earliest

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

'Earliest' is the superlative form of 'early', which comes from Old English 'ǣrlīce' (early, soon). The noun use developed from the adjective phrase 'the earliest time' — the noun 'time' was gradually dropped, leaving 'the earliest' to function as a noun on its own. This pattern is common in English with superlative adjectives that express time boundaries (cf. 'the latest', 'the soonest').