Definition of earlier

• comparatives of `soon or `early; "Come a little sooner, if you can"; "came earlier than I expected"
• (comparative and superlative of `early) more early than; most early; "a fashion popular in earlier times"; "his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher"; "Verdis earliest and most raucous opera"
• earlier in time; previously; "I had known her before"; "as I said before"; "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier"