Better late than never

1. It is better to do something after it was supposed to have been done than not to do it at all.

Idioms and Phrases

Being tardy is better than not at all, as in We've been waiting for you for an hour—but better late than never. This phrase, first recorded about 1200, appears in several early English proverb collections, often with the added but better never late. Today it is often used in exasperation over a delay, as in the example.

Example Sentences

Better late than never, but the trustees that remain now have work to do to right the listing ship.

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Too bad he didn’t come to that revelation during Blake Snell’s Game 1 performance, but better late than never as the saying goes.

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“Better late than never,” he quipped Wednesday night.

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She says: "It is better late than never, especially now that we are marking 80 years since the end of World War Two and very few are left of those who took part."

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Kay returned to performing stand-up comedy after a 12-year break when he announced his Better Late than Never tour in November 2022.

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