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Glite Dictionary
to wind up late

to wind up late

4.4
Arrive somewhere later than expected, often by accident
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɪnd ʌp leɪt/
  • Informal
translation icon : terminar llegando tarde
  • If you leave now, you won't wind up late for the show.

Examples

  • She didn't plan to wind up late, but the traffic was terrible.

  • Don't wind up late for the party!

  • He always seems to wind up late for work, no matter how early he gets up.

  • I wound up late.

  • I always wind up late to meetings because I underestimate traffic.

  • After missing my train, I wound up late to the wedding ceremony.

  • She adjusted her schedule but still wound up late for the movie.

Synonyms

to run late
vsto wind up late
86 2.2

To arrive later than planned or expected

focuses on eventually reaching the place rather than the delay
to arrive late
vsto wind up late
9 1.3

Get to a place or event after the time you were expected to be there

happens unintentionally rather than because someone planned it

Antonyms

on time
321 1.0

At the expected time

punctual
27 3.2

On time for a meeting or event

How Late

to miss
∞ 1.0
to wind up late
  • Informal
4.4

Surface Forms

wind up late infinitive
winding up late present participle
winds up late third person singular
wound up late past
wound up late past participle

Morphology

wind + up + late

The construction follows a verb+particle pattern where 'up' marks a resultant state and 'late' has its literal temporal meaning, so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer a sense like 'end up late'. However, 'wind' in this phrasal use does not retain its obvious literal senses (it functions idiomatically as 'end'/'finish' or 'come to be'), so the precise meaning is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb wind up late comes from the image of turning a clock or a toy: you wind it and it finally winds up at a point. So if you wind up late, you 'end up' arriving later than you planned, often by accident.