arrive

1 of 2

verb

ar·rive ə-ˈrīv

arrived; arriving

Synonyms of arrive next

intransitive verb

: to reach a destination

The train arrived late.

: to make an appearance : to come upon the scene

The crowd became silent when the officers arrived.

: to be near in time : come

The moment has arrived.

informal : to achieve success

After years of climbing the corporate ladder, he felt he had finally arrived.

archaic : happen

arriver noun

arrivé

2 of 2

noun

ar·ri·vé ˌa-ri-ˈvā

: one who has risen rapidly to success, power, or fame

Phrases

arrive at

: to reach by effort or thought

arrived at a decision

Examples of arrive in a Sentence

Verb He arrived home at six o'clock. We had some dinner before arriving at the station. When do you expect them to arrive in Boston? Their flight is due to arrive at 11:30. The train from New York is now arriving. They arrived late at the party. The mail hasn't arrived yet. The new version of the software has finally arrived in stores. There's always a lot to do when spring arrives. When is their baby expected to arrive? See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

With the trend toward ’90s country, Larkins’ debut single arrives at an opportune moment. —

Tom Roland, Billboard, 28 Nov. 2023 The tour announcement arrives several days before the group is set to perform at Los Angeles’ Bésame Mucho Festival, which will be headlined by Maná, Los Bukis, and Gloria Trevi. —

Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 28 Nov. 2023 Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived early today in east Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah. —

Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 28 Nov. 2023 Granit Xhaka enjoyed an excellent 2022/23 season, but was still moved on last summer to make way for Declan Rice who arrived in a Premier League-record transfer from West Ham in the summer transfer window. —

Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 More cars kept arriving, forming a column of off-road travelers snaking through the desert, even as Easler and the drivers at the front realized they were headed nowhere. —

Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2023 Her Variety Hitmakers award for Changemaker of the Year arrives after years of Morris using her success within country music to try to push the genre towards more inclusivity on all fronts — most pressingly, for people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. —

Natalie Weiner, Variety, 28 Nov. 2023 In total, at least six deputies arrived in four patrol cars and two unmarked vehicles. —

Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 27 Nov. 2023 North wore a velour sweatsuit, big sunglasses and straight hair, recreating a photo from Kardashian and Hilton arriving at the Sydney Airport in 2006. —

Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 27 Nov. 2023

Noun

The transformative track and visual arrives after the rap star began teasing it several weeks ago, and marks her debut as an independent artist. —

Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 3 Nov. 2023 Less chance of forgetting what happened in the first two batches of episodes before the third arrives. —

Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Sep. 2023 Plus, the staff works their collective asses off, and once fall arrives and temperatures (hopefully) drop below microwavable, the side patio and back lawn will become Huntsville honey holes. —

Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 25 July 2023 Two minutes after Medic 100 arrives, the Franklin Fire squad truck pulls up and secures the scene, checking the car for gasoline leaks and snipping the battery lines so the remaining airbags don't trip. —

Oliver Broudy, Men's Health, 17 Aug. 2023 When fall arrives and temperatures decrease, CALS expects to see more patrons borrowing tools for home improvement projects, according to Coffey. —

Josh Snyder, Arkansas Online, 5 Sep. 2023 Water use will go up as the days get warmer, Duer said, but as late summer arrives, people should adjust their watering habits. —

Megan Banta, The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 July 2023 But until the air-conditioning arrives, its drivers have to suffer the heat. —

WIRED, 31 July 2023 Do everything to the best of your ability -- and when the opportunity to break free arrives, take it! —

Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arrive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English ariven, arriven "to reach the end of a journey by sea, disembark, reach a destination," borrowed from Anglo-French ariver, arriver "to bring (a person, a ship) to shore, to reach a destination by ship, disembark" (also continental Old French), going back to Vulgar Latin *arrīpāre, parasynthetic derivative from Latin ad rīpam "up to the shore, at the shore" from ad "to, at" + rīpam, accusative of rīpa "bank, shore"; (sense 3) borrowed from French arriver (attested in this sense since the 18th century) — more at at entry 1, river

Noun

borrowed from French, past participle of arriver "to reach a destination, achieve success," going back to Old French ariver "to reach a destination by ship" — more at arrive entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of arrive was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century