late
Plurallates
- 1Not arriving, happening or being done until after the expected or scheduled time; also, charged because something was late, as in a late fee.
The flight was three hours late because of storms over Denver.
Her rent check was late for the second month in a row.
UsageUse late for an event, late for work, and late with a payment, late with the rent.
Similardelayed, overdue, tardy, behind
Oppositeearly, punctual, prompt
Note
Here the word stays closest to its roots. Something late is, at bottom, something that has been slow to come. Its Old English ancestor, læt, meant slow, slack or negligent, and related words in Icelandic and Gothic still mean lazy. A late fee keeps the same idea: it is charged because a payment was slow to arrive.
- 2Near the end of a period of time, such as a month, season, historical era, or someone's life or career, or belonging to that end part.
By late October, most of the trees had lost their leaves.
He moved to the city in his late twenties and never left.
UsagePut it before the period: in late May, in the late 1990s, in her late twenties.
Oppositeearly
- 3After a deadline has passed; past a designated or scheduled time.
Taxes filed late can trigger penalties and interest.
The shipment arrived late, throwing off the entire production schedule.
UsageLate is also the adverb: arrive late, pay late. Too late means after the chance has gone.
Oppositeearly, punctually, promptly
- 4Near the end of the day; toward evening or into the night.
The streets were empty because it was late and most shops had closed.
He caught a late train home after the concert.
UsageCommon in it's getting late and a late night.
Oppositeearly
- 5Recent; having occurred, appeared, or been mentioned only a short time ago.
UsageFor this meaning, recent is usually clearer: the recent unrest. Before a person's name, late normally means dead.
Similarrecent
Note
The 'recent' adjective reads most naturally in set phrases like of late years, which Robert Frost uses in North of Boston (1914). Shakespeare, in Richard II (1597), could still place it freely before a noun: 'the boisterous late appeal', meaning the charge just made.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Robert Frost uses 'of late years' in North of Boston. gutenberg.org
- North of Boston was first published in 1914. archive.org
- Shakespeare wrote 'the boisterous late appeal', referring to a recently made accusation; King Richard speaks the words in Richard II, Act 1, scene 1. opensourceshakespeare.org
- 6Deceased; used before a person's name or title, especially when speaking of what they did while alive.
Her late husband collected stamps for more than forty years.
The scholarship was created by the late Dr. Alvarez in 1998.
UsageGoes before the noun, after the or a possessive: his late father. He is late means he is not on time.
Note
A euphemism with strict grammar. It suits moments of recalling what someone did in life. Monty Python's 1969 dead-parrot sketch gets its laugh by misapplying it: 'a late parrot' appears in a pile of far blunter phrases for dead.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Monty Python's dead-parrot sketch first aired in 1969. montypython.com
- Mr Praline, played by John Cleese, says 'a late parrot' among other descriptions of the dead bird. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meanings
- 7In the recent past, up to the present time; lately.
Attendance at the weekly meetings has dropped off of late.
Of late, critics have warmed to her early novels.
UsageMostly in of late, at the start or end of a clause. Lately is the everyday word.
Similarrecently
Note
The bare adverb belongs to older literary English. Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice has 'the pardon that I late pronounced', and Tennyson still uses it in 1850, in the compound late-lost in In Memoriam.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
- The quoted words occur in The Merchant of Venice, spoken by the Duke in Act IV, scene i. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
- Tennyson's In Memoriam was first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
- The first edition of In Memoriam contains 'late-lost' in Canto XIII. en.wikisource.org
- 8Recently departed from a position or office, or recently existing but no longer in place.
By Edvvard Reynoldes, late Preacher to the Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inne: And now Rector of the Church of Braunſton in Northamptonſhire.
1640, Edvvard Reynoldes, A Treatise of the Passions and Facvlties of the Soul of Man. With the severall Dignities and Corruptions thereunto…the late administration
UsageEasily confused with the dead sense: the late bishop may have retired or died. Former avoids this.
Similarformer, previous, erstwhile
Oppositecurrent, present, incumbent
Note
Edward Reynoldes, in 1640, signs himself 'late Preacher to the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inne: And now Rector' of a Northamptonshire church. He was alive and had simply moved on.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The cited wording appeared in 1640. archive.org
- Edward Reynoldes is identified as the former preacher to Lincoln's Inn and current rector of Braunston, Northamptonshire. prdl.org
- Reynoldes was alive in 1640. en.wikipedia.org
- He had left his Lincoln's Inn appointment for another position. en.wikisource.org
- 9Not yet having started a menstrual period that was due.
Her cycle was usually regular, so when she was eight days late, she called her gynecologist.
Travel, illness, and stress can all make someone late without pregnancy being the cause.
UsageI'm late can mean this, so say my period is late when the setting is unclear.
Similaroverdue
Oppositeearly
Note
A discreet use that leaves the key word unsaid. In Seinfeld (1992), Cynthia's 'I am never late' is understood without the word period being repeated. Context does all the work, so the same sentence at a train station means something else entirely.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The Seinfeld episode containing the example aired in 1992. en.wikipedia.org
- Cynthia says 'I am never late', referring to her menstrual period. seinfeldscripts.com
- 10A scheduled work shift that takes place toward the end of the day or at night.
After working a late, he finds it hard to fall asleep before two.
The newest nurses get most of the lates this month.
UsageYou work a late; with no article, on late means working the late shift.
Oppositeearly
- 11Formerly; until recently, used especially of past service in a military unit or past membership in an organization.
Captain Hale, late of the 7th Infantry, addressed the veterans' dinner.
The lecture was given by Dr. Imani, late of the national observatory.
UsageFollows the name in late of: Captain Hale, late of the 7th Infantry.
Similarformerly, previously
- 12Toward the end of a period of time, or at or until a time far on in the day or night.
She often works late when a big project is due.
The team scored twice late in the fourth quarter to win.
UsageKeeps the plain form: work late, stay up late. Lately means recently.
Oppositeearly
Note
Followed by in, late places an event near the end of a span, as when a team scores twice late in the fourth quarter. Alone, it usually means into the night: someone who works late stays on well after the normal end of the day.
- 13Of a star or spectral class: toward the cooler end of the spectral sequence, such as K and M stars, or toward the cooler end within a class.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English "late," from Old English "læt" (slow, slack, negligent, late), from Proto-West Germanic "*lat" and Proto-Germanic "*lataz" (slow, lazy). It is related to Dutch and Low German "laat" (late), Danish "lad" (languid, lazy), Icelandic "latur" (lazy), and Gothic "lats" (lazy, slothful).
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 7 facts
- English late comes from Middle English late and Old English læt. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English læt meant slow, slack, negligent, and late. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English læt descends through Proto-West Germanic *lat from Proto-Germanic *lataz, meaning slow or lazy. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch and Low German laat are cognates meaning late. en.wiktionary.org
- Danish lad is a cognate meaning languid or lazy. en.wiktionary.org
- Icelandic latur is a cognate meaning lazy. en.wiktionary.org
- Gothic lats is a cognate meaning lazy or slothful. en.wiktionary.org