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to arrive at

to arrive at

320 2.1
Reach a place, for example a station, or come to a decision after thinking
  • phrasal verb
  • /əˈraɪv æt/
translation icon : llegar a
  • The train is scheduled to arrive at the station by 6 PM.
  • arrive at a destination
  • arrive at a conclusion
  • arrive at a decision

And so those kids arrive at Stanford prepared.

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Examples

  • Late in the afternoon of June 4, 1944, they arrived at the station in Richmond.

    Academic text (1990)
  • After what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance finally arrived at the remote beach.

    Academic text (2011)
  • And, you know, we arrived at the port my third day in Africa.

  • Without paying too much attention to the road, I had arrived at the station.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • How long did it take you to arrive at this point, to this point?

  • How did you arrive at this particular book?

  • How did you arrive at this conclusion?

  • We have just arrived at Westfields in London.

  • Exhausted and footweary, they arrived at the cabin.

  • - On further reflection, I think that you'll arrive at the same diagnosis I did.

Synonyms

to get to
vsto arrive at
2.4

Reach a goal, place, or state after effort

covers reaching places or decisions after travel or deliberation
to reach
vsto arrive at
1.1

Get to a place, level, or goal after effort

focuses on doing this after travel or careful thought
to come to
vsto arrive at
3.1

Reach a decision or understanding

is about getting to places, destinations, or decisions after thought
to conclude
vsto arrive at
428 3.1

To decide something after looking at the facts

is the same mental end but also covers physical arrival after travel
to attain
vsto arrive at
110 3.9

To reach a level, place, or goal after hard work

is broader, including arrival by travel or considered choice
to come to a conclusion
vsto arrive at
13 3.0

To make a final decision after thinking

also applies to physical arrival or reaching destinations after travel
to progress to
vsto arrive at
9 3.6

Move on to a higher level after getting better

also covers simple arrival at places or final decisions

Surface Forms

arrive at infinitive
arriving at present participle
arrives at third person singular
arrived at past
arrived at past participle

Morphology

arrive + at

The meaning 'to reach a particular place or conclusion' is directly and compositionally derived from 'arrive' (to reach a destination) combined with the locative preposition 'at' indicating the target point. This verb + preposition construction is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and would be readily understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Arrive at comes from the image of travel: you arrive at a station or house when you reach it. That same image works for ideas or decisions, so to arrive at an idea or agreement means 'to reach' it after thinking.