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late

late

23 1.0
Happening not long before now
  • adjective
  • /leɪt/
: reciente
  • Here's a late report.
  • late developments

A pattern is imprinted on it, unrecognizable of late.

Examples

  • We gossiped on as the hour grew late and bugs slammed suicidally into the porch light.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Is it too late to request Hot Springs?

  • One of my good friends got these for me as a late birthday gift.

  • It's too late for that.

  • Hey, the late paper just came in.

  • I'll be back Monday at the latest.

  • Sorry I'm late.

  • He often tells me about his late night studies for the exam last week.

  • She made a late decision to change her major after reflecting on her interests.

  • I received a late reply to my email, which was helpful for my project.

Synonyms

recent
vslate
∞ 1.0

Happening not long ago

is focused on events just before now rather than new beginnings

Idioms

81 3.3

Happening in the recent past, in the last few weeks or months

21 3.5

Recently, in the past few weeks or months

Until very late at night

9 7.1

Joining after others have already started something important

Arriving a little after the set time on purpose to look stylish

Very likely to arrive after the expected time because they are often not on time

Compounds

332 2.0

A time late in the evening when people stay awake to work or finish tasks

171 3.9

Happening or done after most people go to bed

14 3.9

A recent car or truck made in the last few years

13 3.1

An extra charge you pay when a payment is late

13 4.6

A person who shows skill or talent later than others

The late part of the night when most people are asleep

Something that develops or succeeds later than usual

tad late
  • Informal
1 7.6

A little after the time you should arrive

A plant that flowers later than most, often in autumn

late unpleasantness
  • Literature
1 9.0

A recent time of trouble or bad events

Late Latin
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A form of Latin used from the 3rd to the 8th century that links Classical and Medieval Latin

late blight
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A serious plant disease that attacks potatoes and tomatoes late in the growing season

1 9.9

A polite or ironic name for the American Civil War

A time when people sing with recorded music in a bar late at night

late-ripening
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A plant or fruit that becomes ripe late in the growing season, often in fall

Plants that bloom late in the growing season, often in autumn

Late Greek
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A form of Greek used from the third to the eighth centuries

Show important talent or success later than usual in life

late-spring-blooming
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A plant that has flowers in the later part of spring

A wildflower that has purple flowers like a daisy in late summer and fall

Late Greek language
  • Specialized
9.9

A form of Greek used in speech and writing from the 3rd to the 8th centuries AD

A long party where people dance late at night for many hours

motherfunking late
  • Offensive
9.9

Arriving much later than expected and making people angry

How Recent

just now
142 1.0
late
23 1.0
the other day
726 1.7
long ago
482 1.0

Surface Forms

late positive
later comparative
latest superlative

Etymology

Late can also mean 'recent' or 'just before now', and this sense is the same idea as in lately, meaning it refers to something that happened 'not long ago'.