What does tôt in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word tôt in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use tôt in French.

The word tôt in French means early, early, soon, early on, at the earliest, waste no time in doing, About time! About time too!, It's about time!, somebody who likes to go to bed early, earlier and earlier, it is early, the early bird catches the worm, as soon as possible, the sooner the better, early bird, early riser, earlier, early in the morning, early morning, sooner or later. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word tôt

early

adverbe (de bonne heure) (in the day)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Elle se lève toujours tôt le matin pour éviter les bouchons. Reste encore un peu : il est encore tôt.
She always gets up early in the morning to avoid traffic jams. Stay a while: it is still early.

early, soon, early on

adverbe (à l'avance) (in advance)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Il faut préparer ce voyage le plus tôt possible.
We must prepare for this trip as early as possible.

at the earliest

locution adverbiale (pas avant)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Comme j'ai une réunion à 18 h, je devrais rentrer à la maison à 20 h au plus tôt.
Since I have a meeting at six o'clock I should get back at eight o'clock at the earliest.

waste no time in doing

locution verbale (ne pas mettre longtemps à faire)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il eut tôt fait de faire sa valise pour partir en vacances.
He wasted no time in packing his suitcase to go on holiday.

About time! About time too!

interjection (familier (Enfin ! Il était temps !) (informal)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")
Il a enfin compris comment se servir de cette machine à café, c'est pas trop tôt !

It's about time!

(Enfin !) (informal)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")

somebody who likes to go to bed early

nom masculin et féminin invariable (qui aime se coucher tôt)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Gérard ne risque pas de venir à la fête ce soir parce que c'est un couche-tôt et qu'il doit déjà être au lit à cette heure-ci.
There's no chance Gerard will come to the party tonight, because he likes to go to be early and he'll already be tucked up under the covers by that time.

earlier and earlier

locution adverbiale (toujours plus tôt)

it is early

(la journée a commencé depuis peu)

the early bird catches the worm

(il ne faut pas tarder à agir) (figurative)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

as soon as possible

locution verbale (le plus rapidement possible)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Ton père est parti à l'hôpital, peux-tu nous rejoindre là-bas le plus tôt possible ?

the sooner the better

(dès que possible)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

early bird, early riser

nom masculin et féminin invariable (familier (personne qui se lève tôt)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Nous préférons faire l'excursion tôt le matin plutôt que tard le soir car nous sommes des lève-tôt.
We'd rather do the outing in the morning rather than late in the evening, as we are early birds.

earlier

locution adverbiale (avant)

J'aurais dû y penser plus tôt. Demain, j'irai au bureau plus tôt pour installer la salle.

early in the morning, early morning

locution adverbiale (en fin de nuit, début du jour)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

sooner or later

locution adverbiale (un jour prochain)

Tôt ou tard, les cambrioleurs finissent par se faire prendre.

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So now that you know more about the meaning of tôt in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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