early bird
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
A person who acts early.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
You have time to digest the unexpected worm, as they say about early birds!
The comedian is also among the personalities on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast show for early birds, launched yesterday.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “early bird” mean?
A person who acts early.
Is “early bird” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.