late model
- noun
- The car was a late-model navy Lincoln Continental.
Examples
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If you think about them, they drive late-model cars, dress in suits, and polish their shoes.
Fiction book (2002) -
A late-model Mercedes squeals into view, the back door flying open as more agents leap out.
Fiction book (1996) -
I just pulled a late model Ford out of the water down by South Beach.
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Ideally, we can pay cash for both vehicles and get late model used options for both.
Blog text (8) -
Yes, as a matter of fact, a gray, late model Volvo.
Fiction book (2000) -
Suspect vehicle... late model gray Ford, headed westbound on 7th.
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That's a perfectly good late-model car worth at least a thousand dollars.
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The couple is reported traveling in a late-model, gray Mercury sedan.
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It's a late-model sedan traveling southbound.
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The narrow streets run very straight and are lined with expensive, late model German cars.
How New
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a vehicle manufactured recently' is directly derivable from combining 'late' (recent) with 'model' (version/design); this is a straightforward adjective + noun composition. The pattern is common across languages and standard English usage, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Late model comes from car sellers: model means a car design and late was used for the newest design, like the car that just arrived in the shop window. So, it means 'a vehicle made recently'.