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.

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, noun o·ver·late, adjective o·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

Example sentences from the Web for lateness

Bieber's team tweeted an apology for his lateness, which is perhaps a new low in the history of rock ‘n’ roll and social media.

Bieber Late For UK Gig, Homework Suffers, Bedtimes Missed |Tom Sykes |March 5, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
I was sick of his lateness and his wildness and sick of all that pain.

A Writer's Secret Life |Susan Cheever |October 8, 2008 |DAILY BEAST
For I was fast growing worried over the lateness of your return.

In the Court of King Arthur |Samuel Lowe
Entering the room, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, she found it filled with people.

The Girl Scouts in Beechwood Forest |Margaret Vandercook

The lateness of the succeeding arrivals originated from the cause mentioned in the enclosed letter.

The Old Pike |Thomas B. Searight
I was just moving some of the sticks when something caused me to remember the lateness of the hour.

'Brother Bosch', an Airman's Escape from Germany |Gerald Featherstone Knight
And he was off before she could even protest at the lateness of the hour.

When a Cobbler Ruled a King |Augusta Huiell Seaman

British Dictionary definitions for lateness

late

/ (leɪt) /

adjective

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

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

(prenominal) towards or near the end the late evening

at an advanced time in the evening or at night it was late

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

(prenominal) having died, esp recently my late grandfather

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

of late recently; lately

adverb

after the correct or expected time he arrived late

at a relatively advanced age she married late

recently; lately as 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

Idioms and Phrases with lateness

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.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

late

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

adverb, lat·er, lat·est.

Idioms for late

Origin of late

SYNONYMS FOR late

OTHER WORDS FROM late

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH late

Words nearby late

Example sentences from the Web for lateness

British Dictionary definitions for lateness

adjective

adverb

Derived forms of late

Word Origin for late

usage for late

Idioms and Phrases with lateness

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

late

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

adverb, lat·er, lat·est.

Idioms for late

Origin of late

SYNONYMS FOR late

OTHER WORDS FROM late

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH late

Words nearby late

Words related to lateness

Example sentences from the Web for lateness

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for lateness

adjective

adverb

Derived forms of late

Word Origin for late

usage for late

Idioms and Phrases with lateness

British Dictionary definitions for lateness