Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - earlier

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Earlier is the comparative of early. 2. Earlier is used to refer to a point or period in time before the present or before the one you are talking about. As mentioned earlier, the University supplements this information with an interview... Earlier, it had been hoped to use the indoor track. ...political reforms announced by the President earlier this year... Many years earlier, Grundy had given The Beatles their first television break. ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl, oft amount ADV • Earlier is also an adjective. Earlier reports of gunshots have not been substantiated. ADJ: ADJ n