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

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Initially conceived as an academic and military communication tool, the internet became a commercial success due to the foresight of a US administration that early on recognized the transformative potential of combining a permissionless network with global information exchange. —

Christian Catalini, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025 Andrew could tell early on that there was something wrong with his reading. —

Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Jan. 2025 The Sunshine State in recent election cycles has been lauded for reporting results early on election night. —

Ashley Lopez, NPR, 16 Jan. 2025 In the coming days, another story will show how one police department decided early on to attack the drug in a new way and has had success. —

Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 16 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for early on