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
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. Earlier is also an adjective. Earlier reports of gunshots have not been substantiated
(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"; "Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera"