as in first
coming before all others in time or order
the earliest computers were massive machines that practically filled up a room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earliest
Adjective
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This is not the first time the council has approved increasing ticket prices.—
Jasmine Mendez,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2025 -
The first helicopter airline in Greece, hoper, has added four new destinations to its route map: Ios, Syros, Anafi and Porto Heli.—
Ramsey Qubein,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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In the initial preemptive attack, Israel hit the same three sites targeted by the U.S. Several top Iranian nuclear scientists and the top general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in the operation, according to Iran.—
Luis Martinez,
ABC News,
22 June 2025
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Pele made it 3-1, then Zagallo put the game to bed with Brazil’s fourth after his initial corner was not cleared.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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Because these are open-box deals, the items have been taken out of their original packaging and could arrive with minor scratches—but that won’t stop us from accepting the massive discount.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
30 June 2025
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The ultra-high-performance model, which debuted in 2023 at the very tail end of the third-generation Challenger’s lifecycle, added a 3.0-liter supercharger to the original Demon variant’s 6.2-liter Hellcat V-8.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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Giard grew up to become both a voracious reader (with a B.A. in English and American literature from Yale and an M.A. in comparative literature from Boston University) and a foremost chronicler of writers.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
28 June 2025
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One of the Jet Propulsion Lab’s foremost scientists says the futuristic outpost is still hoping against hope that the president’s plan for NASA will be overturned by Congress.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Earliest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earliest. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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