🕒 Recently 🚆 Delayed 🏁 Near the end ⏰ After expected time 🆕 Recent 🕊️ Recently dead

late

∞ 1.0

Near the end of a period or stage

adjective
/leɪt/

: final

Trading pauses were triggered on six trading days in late January.
the late 19th century
early or late
the late nineteenth century

So I guess right around probably late November, December.

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Examples

The interest in time management started in the late fifties and early sixties of the twentieth century.

Academic text (2011)
It's too late to come back.

The Return (2024)
So I guess right around probably late November, December.

Julian Dorey
This is a description of late Middle Ages.
We're in the late adolescent stage.

Shawn Ryan Show
The ceremony will take place in the late afternoon when the sun is setting.
He presented his research on the changes in art during the late Renaissance period.
The project was completed in the late stages of development, just before the deadline.

Synonyms

later

vslate

1.0

Happening after something else in time

refers to timing close to the end of a period or stage

Antonyms

early

∞ 1.0

Near the beginning of a period, for example childhood

Idioms

of late

91 3.3

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

late into the night

27 2.7

Until very late at night

as of late

16 3.5

Recently, in the past few weeks or months

late to the party

Informal

8 7.1

Joining after others have already started something important

fashionably late

6 4.8

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

late for one's own funeral

Informal

1 8.8

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

Compounds

late-night

84 3.9

Happening or done after most people go to bed

late night

42 2.0

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

late bloomer

11 4.6

A person who shows skill or talent later than others

late model

11 3.9

A recent car or truck made in the last few years

late fee

10 3.1

An extra charge you pay when a payment is late

tad late

Informal

1 7.6

A little after the time you should arrive

late-night hour

1 3.7

The late part of the night when most people are asleep

late-night karaoke

1 4.6

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

late blight

Specialized

7.3

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

late purple aster

9.9

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

late unpleasantness

Literature

9.0

A recent time of trouble or bad events

late-blooming

4.7

A plant that flowers later than most, often in autumn

late-blooming

4.8

Something that develops or succeeds later than usual

Late Greek

Specialized

9.5

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

Late Greek language

Specialized

9.9

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

Late Latin

Specialized

9.9

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

late-night dance marathon

5.5

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

late-flowering

4.4

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

late-flowering

6.8

Show important talent or success later than usual in life

late-ripening

Specialized

5.6

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

late-spring-blooming

Specialized

3.9

A plant that has flowers in the later part of spring

motherfunking late

Offensive

9.9

Arriving much later than expected and making people angry

the late unpleasantness

Archaic

9.9

A polite or ironic name for the American Civil War

How Late

final

∞ 1.0

late

∞ 1.0

middle

745 6.6

early

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

late positive

later comparative

latest superlative

Etymology

Late often means 'near the end' of a period, and you can see this in related words like later and latest, so something done late happens 'toward the end' of a time or stage.