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]

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Example Sentences

He denied that the company's plans would be too little, too late to compete with Chinese brands, which have been rapidly building market share in Europe.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

Still, I fear it’s too little, too late.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

A sudden reopening would likely see fertilizer prices fall, but “for many North American countries, it is too little, too late now for spring,” said Linville.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

Committed defence kept England at bay, with No 8 Ben Earl's try two minutes from time too little, too late for the visitors.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

And it was too little, too late: At around 9:00, the water in the reactor sank below the tops of the fuel rods.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Related Words

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