late
Americanadjective
-
later,
comparative
-
last,
superlative
-
latest
superlative
-
occurring, coming, or being after the usual or proper time: a late spring.
late frosts;
a late spring.
-
continued until after the usual time or hour; protracted.
a late business meeting.
-
near or at the end of day or well into the night.
a late hour.
-
belonging to the time just before the present moment; most recent.
a late news bulletin;
The car is a late model, but I don't know the exact year.
-
immediately preceding the present one; former.
the late attorney general.
-
recently deceased.
the late Mr. Phipps.
-
occurring at an advanced stage in life.
a late marriage.
-
belonging to an advanced period or stage in the history or development of something.
the late phase of feudalism.
adverb
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after the usual or proper time, or after delay.
to arrive late.
-
until after the usual time or hour; until an advanced hour, especially of the night.
to work late.
-
at or to an advanced time, period, or stage.
The flowers keep their blossoms late in warm climates.
-
recently but no longer.
a man late of Chicago, now living in Philadelphia.
idioms
adjective
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occurring or arriving after the correct or expected time
the train was late
-
(prenominal) occurring, scheduled for, or being at a relatively advanced time
a late marriage
-
(prenominal) towards or near the end
the late evening
-
at an advanced time in the evening or at night
it was late
-
(prenominal) occurring or being just previous to the present time
his late remarks on industry
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(prenominal) having died, esp recently
my late grandfather
-
(prenominal) just preceding the present or existing person or thing; former
the late manager of this firm
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recently; lately
adverb
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after the correct or expected time
he arrived late
-
at a relatively advanced age
she married late
-
recently; lately
as late as yesterday he was selling books
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rising and going to bed later than is usual
-
-
at a late or advanced stage
-
too late
-
Usage
Since late can mean deceased, many people think it is better to avoid using this word to refer to the person who held a post or position before its present holder: the previous (not the late ) editor of The Times
Synonym Usage
See modern.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of late
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English læt “slow, late”; cognate with German lass “slothful,” Old Norse latr, Gothic lats “slow, lazy,” Latin lassus “tired”
Explanation
Late means after the expected time, or at the end of a certain period of time. if you're late for a movie, you get to the theater after the film's already started. If you're a late sleeper, you make a habit of dozing long after your alarm goes off. When you're late, you're not on time. You might also be in your late twenties, which means you're at the end of that decade of your life — closer to 30 than to 20. If your friend calls and says, "Sorry I'm calling so late," she means late at night, at the very end of the day. And if you refer to someone as "the late Mr. Smith," it's a formal way of saying Mr. Smith is dead.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Sandisk stock was falling late Wednesday after a disappointing outlook from the memory maker seemed to overshadow strong fourth-quarter results.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Got to keep it going late night as do many 55-pluses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
These expired late last month, and were replaced by new tariffs on 60 trading partners based on claims key economic partners have failed to properly tackle forced labour.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
It first went public in the late 1980s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Too late, Torak realized that Wolf had not been growling at the auroch -but at these silent assailants.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
In Kvitneva, it is not clear if the target was the railway itself or the warehouse beside it, which was also hit and was still smouldering hours later.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Representatives from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and the Treasury Department last year met with the whistleblower and later received documentation tied to her claims, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The families believed the location was safe and had therefore gathered in the buildings that were later struck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
He was freed after his conviction was overturned on procedural grounds, with the presiding judge also later ruled to have been biased.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
An hour or more later the clack of the train changed pitch: we were crossing a trestle.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Max McCaffrey is the team’s new running backs coach, and his last name should be familiar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Norgaard, who signed for Arsenal last year in a £15m deal from Brentford, was left out of the Gunners squad for a friendly against Real Betis on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The review was sparked by a whistleblower report last year by JPMorgan’s then-head of scam prevention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
ABC last aired the game in 2006, when the network had its own sports division.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“That’s right, son. Hundreds of people were in our last camp. But not everyone drowned. And not every wagon failed. Most animals made it.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
CFO Amrita Ahuja told MarketWatch that the raised outlook encompasses more than just the beat from the latest quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Thomson Reuters bumped up its revenue targets for the year after logging double-digit growth across its three big business segments in the latest quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
He was the latest in a series of internet personalities targeted in Mexico, dramatizing the potential dangers of social media presence and commentary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The latest Russian barrage destroyed storage and logistics facilities - from online retailer warehouses to a postal sorting centre.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
I’d spoken with Gran the weekend before, about my latest plan to save Sir Fig Newton, and she was totally on board.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
