lately

American  

[leyt-lee] / ˈleɪt li /

adverb

1. of late; recently; not long since.

   He has been very grouchy lately.

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lately British  

/ ˈleɪtlɪ /

adverb

1. in recent times; of late

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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

Lately, however, Micron and Sandisk have been taking steps to make their financial performance smoother and more predictable.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026

Lately, AI is putting the quest on steroids, with people pumping chatbots for moneymaking hacks and using content generators to rapidly churn out videos, books and other media they hope to monetize online.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

Lately, attention has centered on the massive capital expenditures driving Microsoft’s AI push.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

Lately, I’ve come to prefer Jackman as a showman over a savage.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

And to me he said, “Miss Nsia Randolph of Chesterfield County, Virginia. Lately cast off the name of Sarah.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson