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early

/ˈɝli/adjective · adverb

Early is also used as adjective or adverb, with meanings including at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time or before the usual time or the time expected.

9 meanings5 lettersScrabble 8

Length

5

Scrabble

8

WWF

8

Starts

EA

Ends

RLY

Difficulty

Medium

Dictionary

What Does “EARLY” Mean?

/ˈɝli/

early has 9 documented senses across adjective, adverb.

Adjective

6 senses
1

at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

early morning

an early warning

early diagnosis

an early death

2

being or occurring at an early stage of development

in an early stage

early forms of life

early man

an early computer

3

belonging to the distant past

the early inhabitants of Europe

former generations

in other times

Synonyms

4

very young

at an early age

5

of an early stage in the development of a language or literature

the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C.

Early Modern English is represented in documents printed from 1476 to 1700

6

expected in the near future

look for an early end to the negotiations

Adverb

3 senses
1

during an early stage

early on in her career

2

before the usual time or the time expected

she graduated early

the house was completed ahead of time

3

in good time

he awoke betimes that morning

Synonyms

Word Forms

Synonyms for EARLY

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

5

Vowels

2

Consonants

3

Word Intelligence

Explore the word early with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.

Definition

at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

Length

5 letters

Starts With

E

Ends With

Y

Vowels

2

Consonants

3

Letters

E, A, R, L, Y

Use Case

Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.

Letter Breakdown

e
a
r
l
y

Word Facts

Key letter, score, and pattern facts for early.

EARLY is a 5-letter word.
It has a Scrabble score of 8.
It starts with E and ends with Y.
It contains 2 vowels and 3 consonants.
Its vowel share is about 40%.
It is an isogram, meaning no letter repeats.
It is not a palindrome.
Letter pattern: ABCDE.
Vowel/consonant pattern: VVCCC.

Word Strategy

Strategy notes for using early in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.

Scrabble Strategy

★★★☆☆

EARLY has a Scrabble score of 8. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.

Wordle Strategy

★★★★☆

EARLY is a five-letter word, so it can be considered in Wordle-style solving. It includes common vowel information that can help narrow guesses.

Crossword Strategy

★★★★☆

EARLY can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 5-letter structure.

Anagram Strategy

★★★★☆

EARLY uses unique letters, giving more flexibility when checking possible anagrams and word game combinations.

Letter Intelligence

A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside early.

Unique Letters

5

Repeated Letters

0

Highest Value Letter

Y

Letter Pattern

ABCDE

CV Pattern

VVCCC

Vowel Share

40%

Consonant Share

60%

Bigrams

EA, AR, RL, LY

Trigrams

EAR, ARL, RLY

Crossword Intelligence

Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for early.

EARLY is a 5-letter standard crossword entry.
It starts with E and ends with Y, which helps narrow crossword crossings.
It contains 2 vowels and 3 consonants.
Its vowel/consonant pattern is VVCCC.
Crossword difficulty estimate: Medium.

Related Words

Word Usage Insights

Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.

This word contains 5 letters and is suitable for medium-length word games.
Its consonant/vowel pattern is VVCCC, making it relatively challenging to recognize.
With a Scrabble score of 8, it offers moderate scoring potential.
The word begins with E and ends with Y, making it useful for solving pattern-based puzzles.
Every letter appears only once.

Word Intelligence Links

Explore word lists connected to EARLY by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.

Word Family

Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with early.

Related Word Tools

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