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 the first time the river has been opened to swimmers since 1923, Reuters reported.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025 -
Now, for the first time, researchers from the University of Houston have unearthed a royal tomb in Caracol.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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That's because the initial yield of NASA's Kepler space telescope, which discovered nearly 3,000 planets in its nine years of operation, relied on worlds transiting — passing between their star and Earth.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
15 July 2025
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But xAI’s Grok took a very different route in the initial rounds of testing.—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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The current lineup of Jay & The Americans has one original member, 82-year-old harmony vocalist Sandy Deane Yaguda.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 July 2025
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For example, at the start of this week, my favorite cheap laptop, the Vivobook 14 (Snapdragon X) was on sale for just $550—that's $200 off the original price and $100 off the previous lowest price.—
Luke Larsen,
Wired News,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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First launched in 1985, FIBO has become one of the earth’s foremost fitness and wellness-focused trade shows, with roughly 130,000 participants set to convene in Cologne, Germany in April 2026.—
Jared Ranahan,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
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Paul, a foremost Republican critic against Trump’s tariff policy, said the latest tariff, which Trump said would go into effect Aug. 1, could lead to a slippery slope that harms the U.S.’s economic standing and Wall Street.—
Al Weaver,
The Hill,
10 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Earliest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earliest. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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