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

While his selfless running is valuable, a return of five Premier League goals and six assists from 34 league appearances so far suggests there is room for improvement in Szoboszlai’s attacking output — something Slot called out early on. —Mark Carey, New York Times, 16 May 2025

From crunching numbers to working at Google, not to mention bylines in a number of top-tier publications over the years, Hamdan realized early on that her heart was in fiction writing. —Sonya Rehman, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025

Morris' character is referenced early on, when Happy's mentor, played by Carl Weathers, opens up about losing his hand to an alligator. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 15 May 2025

From early on, the company –which is now known for exotic luxury cars — was tied to the world of auto racing. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 15 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1759, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for early on

• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• chitosan
• cynodon
• denouement
• deuteron
• echelon

Kids Definition

early on

adverb

: at or during an early point or stage

had decided early on not to accept