late

[ leyt ]

/ leɪt /

SEE 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.

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Idioms for late

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

SYNONYMS FOR late

1 tardy; slow, dilatory; delayed, belated.

4 See modern.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR late ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM late

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH late

former later latter

Words nearby late

latchet, latching, latchkey, latchkey child, latchstring, late, late blight, late bloomer, late charge, late greek, late hebrew

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
“It is late to-night,” said Harry, now quite calm, though with a hot flush upon his cheek.
The Chaplain of the Fleet|Walter Besant and James Rice
And to be sure when a man rises from the dead thus uninvited—your brother was the sole heir of our late master!
The Robbers|Friedrich Schiller
But it was too late: the finger had pulled the trigger and the ball sped true.
To Leeward|F. Marion Crawford
"I would rather you did not wander on the moor so late at night," Mildred Caniper said.
Moor Fires|E. H. (Emily Hilda) Young
Well, that is what the affidavit says which I entered late yesterday afternoon.
The Great Gold Rush|W. H. P. (William Henry Pope) Jarvis

British Dictionary definitions for late

late

/ (leɪt) /

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 forms of late

lateness, noun

Word Origin for late

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

usage for late

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

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.

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late