lately
Americanadverb
adverb
Etymology
Origin of lately
before 1000; Middle English latli; Old English lætlīce; see late, -ly
Explanation
Something that happened lately occurred very recently. If you've spotted a fox every day for the last week, you might say, "I've seen so many foxes lately!" If your friend says, "I've been really stressed out lately," she means she's been overworked and tense for the past few days, weeks, or possibly months. Lately is an adverb that covers the immediate past, a period of time that wasn't too long ago. A more old-fashioned way to say lately is "of late." Though this word has had its current meaning since the fifteenth century, it originally meant "slow or sluggish."
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.
She’s had more on her mind lately than just getting them fed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
He’s been eating steak and grilled chicken lately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Optical stocks have recaptured investors’ interest lately, but Lumentum’s blowout earnings report is being met with a ho-hum response.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
It is a curious diagnosis from an administration whose senior officials have lately been swapping notes on a regimen nicknamed the “sauerkraut diet.”
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
And since Grandma Mae has been gone for a while and Mom has been… busy, it’s only been Boo lately.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
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.
