late

/leɪt/

/leɪt/
IPA guide

Other forms: later

Late means after the expected time, or at the end of a certain period of time. if you're late for a movie, you get to the theater after the film's already started. If you're a late sleeper, you make a habit of dozing long after your alarm goes off.

When you're late, you're not on time. You might also be in your late twenties, which means you're at the end of that decade of your life — closer to 30 than to 20. If your friend calls and says, "Sorry I'm calling so late," she means late at night, at the very end of the day. And if you refer to someone as "the late Mr. Smith," it's a formal way of saying Mr. Smith is dead.

Definitions of late
  1. adjective
    at or toward an end or late period or stage of development
    “the late phase of feudalism”
    synonyms: later
    advanced
    comparatively late in a course of development
    tardive
    late-occurring (especially with reference to symptoms of a disease)
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    early
    being or occurring at an early stage of development
    archaic, primitive
    little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
    new, young
    (of crops) harvested at an early stage of development; before complete maturity
    crude, primitive, rude
    belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness
    embryonic, embryotic
    in an early stage of development
    inchoate, incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
    precocious
    appearing or developing early
    show more antonyms...
  2. adjective
    of a later stage in the development of a language or literature; used especially of dead languages
    “Late Greek”
    synonyms:
    Modern, New
    used of a living language; being the current stage in its development
    New
    in use after medieval times
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    early
    of an early stage in the development of a language or literature
    middle
    of a stage in the development of a language or literature between earlier and later stages
    Old
    of a very early stage in development
    show more antonyms...
  3. adverb
    at an advanced age or stage
    “she married late”
    “undertook the project late in her career”
  4. adverb
    to an advanced time
    “talked late into the evening”
    synonyms: deep
  5. adjective
    of the immediate past or just previous to the present time
    “a late development”
    “their late quarrel”
    synonyms: recent
    past
    earlier than the present time; no longer current
  6. adjective
    (used especially of persons) of the immediate past
    “our late President is still very active”
    synonyms: former, previous
    past
    earlier than the present time; no longer current
  7. adjective
    having died recently
    “her late husband”
    synonyms:
    dead
    no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
  8. adverb
    in the recent past
    “as late as yesterday she was fine”
    “feeling better of late”
    synonyms: lately, latterly, of late, recently
  9. adjective
    after the expected or usual time; delayed
    “I'm late for the plane”
    “the train is late”
    synonyms: belated, tardy
    unpunctual
    not punctual; after the appointed time
  10. adjective
    being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
    “late evening”
    “late 18th century”
    “a late movie”
    “took a late flight”
    “had a late breakfast”
    synonyms:
    advanced, ripe
    far along in time
    after-hours
    after closing time especially a legally established closing time
    latish
    somewhat late
    posthumous
    occurring or coming into existence after a person's death
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    early
    at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
    middle
    between an earlier and a later period of time
    aboriginal, primaeval, primal, primeval, primordial
    having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state
    advance, beforehand
    being ahead of time or need
    archaean, archean
    of or relating to the earliest known rocks formed during the Precambrian Eon
    archaeozoic, archeozoic
    of or belonging to earlier of two divisions of the Precambrian era
    azoic
    before the appearance of life
    earlier, earliest
    (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early
    earlyish
    being somewhat early
    premature, untimely
    uncommonly early or before the expected time
    premature, previous
    too soon or too hasty
    proterozoic
    formed in the later of two divisions of the Precambrian era
    proto
    indicating the first or earliest or original
    wee
    very early
    intervening
    occurring or falling between events or points in time
    mid
    used in combination to denote the middle
    first
    preceding all others in time or space or degree
    show more antonyms...
  11. adverb
    later than usual or than expected
    “the train arrived late”
    “we awoke late”
    “the children came late to school”
    synonyms: belatedly, tardily
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    ahead of time, early, too soon
    before the usual time or the time expected
Pronunciation
US

/leɪt/
UK

/leɪt/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘late'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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