too little, too late

Idioms  

1. Inadequate as a remedy and not in time to be effective, as in The effort to divert the stream into a corn field was too little too late—the houses were already flooded. This term originated in the military, where it was applied to reinforcements that were insufficient and arrived too late to be of help. [First half of 1900s]

---

Example Sentences

When the Pats added another touchdown with a couple minutes left, it was too little, too late.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Nike is finally getting into the pickleball game — but is it too little, too late?

From MarketWatch • Jan. 17, 2026

"Tens of thousands of front-line doctors have come together to say 'no' to what is clearly too little, too late," he added.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2025

It manages to eke out its message in the eleventh hour, but it feels too little too late in our cultural moment, despite its evergreen importance.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025

But I guess it’s too little, too late, because I still can’t let it go.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• insufficient
• mere
• minimum
• miserable
• paltry
• puny
• scant
• scanty
• skimpy
• sparse
• tenuous