late

[leyt]

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR late ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, lat·er or lat·ter, lat·est or last.

occurring, coming, or being after the usual or proper time: 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.

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, lat·er, lat·est.

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

of late, lately; recently: The days have been getting warmer of late.

Origin of late

before 900; Middle English; Old English læt slow, late; cognate with German lass slothful, Old Norse latr, Gothic lats slow, lazy, Latin lassus tired

Related formslate·ness, nouno·ver·late, adjectiveo·ver·late·ness, noun

Can be confusedformer later latter

Synonyms for late

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR late ON THESAURUS.COM

1. tardy; slow, dilatory; delayed, belated. 4. See modern.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for late

slow, last-minute, fresh, recent, previous, past, sometime, old, once, slowly, tardily, belatedly, backward, behind, belated, blown, delayed, dilatory, gone, jammed

Examples from the Web for late

Contemporary Examples of late

Are you bi-coastal now, between Portlandia and Late Night with Seth Meyers?
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness
Marlow Stern
January 7, 2015
At the moment, the only chance I get is when I go do Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness
Marlow Stern
January 7, 2015
Late Wednesday night, French authorities reported that Mourad had surrendered to police, while the two brothers remained at large.
Police Hunt for Paris Massacre Suspects
Tracy McNicoll, Christopher Dickey
January 7, 2015
As he tried to make his way through a crowd of mourners late last month, he looked preoccupied and even disoriented.
What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq
IranWire
January 6, 2015
Late former governors of NY, TX starred in a 1994 snack chip ad.
Mario Cuomo, Ann Richards Concede to Doritos
The Daily Beast Video
January 2, 2015

Historical Examples of late

Since he went to Salamis in search of you, I have not seen him until late this evening.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Have you not of late struggled against the warnings of this friendly spirit?
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
They walked rapidly to the station, but too late, of course, for the train.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
It was a very good season, but the expedition was too late in starting.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
Made rather a late start, owing to some of the horses straying.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest

British Dictionary definitions for late

late

adjective

occurring or arriving after the correct or expected timethe train was late

(prenominal) occurring, scheduled for, or being at a relatively advanced timea late marriage

(prenominal) towards or near the endthe late evening

at an advanced time in the evening or at nightit was late

(prenominal) occurring or being just previous to the present timehis late remarks on industry

(prenominal) having died, esp recentlymy late grandfather

(prenominal) just preceding the present or existing person or thing; formerthe late manager of this firm

of late recently; lately

adverb

after the correct or expected timehe arrived late

at a relatively advanced ageshe married late

recently; latelyas late as yesterday he was selling books

late hours rising and going to bed later than is usual

late in the day

at a late or advanced stage
too late

Derived Formslateness, noun

Word Origin for late

Old English læt; related to Old Norse latr, Gothic lats

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for late

adj.

Old English læt "occurring after the customary or expected time," originally "slow, sluggish," from Proto-Germanic *lata- (cf. Old Norse latr "sluggish, lazy," Middle Dutch, Old Saxon lat, German laß "idle, weary," Gothic lats "weary, sluggish, lazy," latjan "to hinder"), from PIE *led- "slow, weary" (cf. Latin lassus "faint, weary, languid, exhausted," Greek ledein "to be weary"), from root *le- "to let go, slacken" (see let (v.)).

The sense of "deceased" (as in the late Mrs. Smith) is from late 15c., from an adverbial sense of "recently." Of women's menstrual periods, attested colloquially from 1962. Related: Lateness. As an adverb, from Old English late.

Idioms and Phrases with late

late

In addition to the idioms beginning with late

late in life
late in the day

also see:

at the latest
better late than never
Johnny-come-lately
keep late hours
of late
the latest
too little, too late

Also see underlater.