at the earliest

idiom

—used to indicate the earliest possible time when something will happen or be done

The job will not be finished until next year at the (very) earliest.

Examples of at the earliest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Federal charges may soon follow, but that will not become clear until Monday at the earliest. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025

Being able to closely, continuously monitor a wound and prescribe an antibiotic at the earliest sign of infection is an obvious and important interest. —New Atlas, 9 Apr. 2025

Employees were barred from the site until Saturday at the earliest without being able to collect their cars. —Jenni Reid, CNBC, 28 Mar. 2025

So far, the Court’s only issued brief orders indicating that the justices won’t even start to consider the case until April 4 at the earliest, more than three weeks after the Trump administration asked them to intervene. —Ian Millhiser, Vox, 22 Mar. 2025