earliest

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Before this discovery, the earliest known human remains in northern Britain came from a 10,000-year-old burial uncovered in nearby Kent's Bank Cavern in 2013.

From Science Daily • May 20, 2026

If we reach 30 Celsius before Monday, this will be the earliest 30C since 1952.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

The company had to repay the debt not with cash, but with hundreds of tons of cables and rope—making it one of the earliest asset-backed loans, as well.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

In 2022, after both parents had died, Ferrer opened a closet and found about 100 letters from Poly, the earliest less than a week after their departure.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

This seems to be the earliest usage of the term ‘hypothesis’ in its standard modern sense, at any rate in English.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton