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Definition of arrive verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

arrive

verb
 
/əˈraɪv/
 
/əˈraɪv/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they arrive
 
/əˈraɪv/
 
/əˈraɪv/
he / she / it arrives
 
/əˈraɪvz/
 
/əˈraɪvz/
past simple arrived
 
/əˈraɪvd/
 
/əˈraɪvd/
past participle arrived
 
/əˈraɪvd/
 
/əˈraɪvd/
-ing form arriving
 
/əˈraɪvɪŋ/
 
/əˈraɪvɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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  1. [intransitive]
    (abbreviation arr.)
    to get to a place, especially at the end of a journey
    • I'll wait until they arrive.
    • I was pleased to hear you arrived home safely.
    • to arrive early/late for a meeting
    • arrive in… She'll arrive in New York at noon.
    • arrive at… The train arrived at the station 20 minutes late.
    • We didn't arrive back at the hotel until very late.
    • By the time I arrived on the scene, it was all over.
    • Pupils may be newly arrived in Britain, with little or no English.
    • A police officer arrived just in time to see the burglars walking out of the building.
    • They arrived too late to take any action.
    • The police arrived to arrest him.
    Extra Examples
    • What time did they arrive?
    • We finally arrived at our destination late that evening.
    • We should be arriving shortly.
    • We were the first to arrive.
    • As usual, my brother was the last to arrive.
    • Let us know if you think you might arrive late.
    • She likes to arrive unannounced.
    • The train is due to arrive any time now.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • early
    • late
    • shortly
    verb + arrive
    • be due to
    • fail to
    preposition
    • at
    • in
    phrases
    • the first to arrive
    • the last to arrive
    See full entry
  2. [intransitive] (of things) to be brought to somebody
    • A letter arrived for you this morning.
    • Send your application to arrive by 31 October.
    • We waited an hour for our lunch to arrive.
    • The new product will arrive on supermarket shelves (= be available) early next year.
    Extra Examples
    • The package failed to arrive.
    • A pile of letters had arrived on my desk.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • early
    • late
    • shortly
    verb + arrive
    • be due to
    • fail to
    preposition
    • at
    • in
    phrases
    • the first to arrive
    • the last to arrive
    See full entry
  3. [intransitive] (of an event or a moment) to happen or to come, especially when you have been waiting for it
    • The wedding day finally arrived.
    • The baby arrived (= was born) early.
    Extra Examples
    • Summer arrived early that year.
    • As autumn arrives the birds migrate south.
    • The age of industrialization had arrived.
    • The moment had arrived. It was time to leave.
  4. Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘reach the shore after a voyage’): from Old French ariver, based on Latin ad- ‘to’ + ripa ‘shore’.
Idioms
somebody has arrived
  1. (informal) somebody has become successful
    • He knew he had arrived when he was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize.
    • The lad has arrived as a Premiership goalkeeper.
    Topics Successc2
See arrive in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee arrive in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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