arrive

1 of 2

verb

ar·​rive ə-ˈrīv 

arrived; arriving

intransitive verb

1

a

: to reach a destination

The train arrived late.

b

: to make an appearance : to come upon the scene

The crowd became silent when the officers arrived.

2

: to be near in time : come

The moment has arrived.

3

informal : to achieve success

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

4

archaic : happen

arriver noun

see also:

arrive at

arrivé

2 of 2

noun

ar·​ri·​vé ˌa-ri-ˈvā 

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

Synonyms of arrive

Verb

• come
• appear

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?

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The flight departed again and arrived in Atlanta about 90 minutes behind schedule, said Delta, which didn't go into specifics about the passenger's behavior. —Arkansas Online, 19 Feb. 2026

Edozie joined Wolves’ academy in September 2022, arriving on a free transfer from a grassroots team in London, before going on to sign a professional contract with the club in August 2024. —Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026

Noun

All the more reason for those under this sign to embrace the softness and triviality of floral prints right before spring arrives. —Katherine J Igoe, InStyle, 19 Feb. 2026

The benefits of more training will become clearer when the first results from the PACT study arrive, O'Brien says, probably in 2028. —Jon Hamilton, NPR, 18 Feb. 2026

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

Rhymes for arrive

• alive
• archive
• beehive
• connive
• contrive
• deprive
• derive
• revive
• survive
• dive
• drive
• five

Kids Definition

arrive

verb

ar·​rive ə-ˈrīv 

arrived; arriving

1

: to reach the place one started out for

arrive home at six o'clock

2

: come sense 4

the time arrived to begin

3

informal : to be successful