- [not usually before noun] arriving, happening or done after the expected, arranged or usual time
- I'm sorry I'm late.
- late for something She's late for work every day.
- My flight was an hour late.
- We apologize for the late arrival of this train.
- Interest will be charged for late payment.
- Because of the cold weather the crops are later this year.
- Here is a late news flash.
- Some children are very late developers.
Extra Examples- I'm late for work.
- He was now three weeks late with his rent.
- She was fashionably late as always.
- The train was 45 minutes late.
- You've left it a bit late to start your homework, haven't you?
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- for
- in
- into
- …
- an hour, ten minutes, etc. late
- leave it rather, very, etc. late
- [only before noun] near the end of a period of time, a person’s life, etc.
- in the late afternoon
- in late summer
- young people in their late teens (= aged 18 or 19)
- She married in her late twenties (= when she was 28 or 29).
- The school was built in the late 1970s.
- The concert was cancelled at a very late stage.
- United sealed the win with two late goals.
- Shakespeare's late plays
- a late Victorian house
- near the end of the day
- Let's go home—it's getting late.
- Look at the time—it's much later than I thought.
- What is the latest time I can have an appointment?
Extra Examples- I don't know what the time is, but it feels quite late.
- It was now late into the night.
- What are you doing up at this late hour?
- [only before noun] (formal) (of a person) no longer alive
- She spoke of her late husband with passion.
- The event was organized in memory of the late Stephen Hawking.
Word OriginOld English læt (adjective; also in the sense ‘slow, tardy’), late (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to German lass, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin lassus ‘weary’ and let.
Idioms
See late in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee late in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe too late
- happening after the time when it is possible to do something
- It's too late to save her now.
- Buy now before it's too late.
- I’m afraid you’re too late to apply for the job.
- The doctors did all they could, but it was too late.
- It's getting too late to do anything today.
Check pronunciation:
late