late

adjective
/leɪt/

Near the end of a period of time.

Example

“The seedlings appeared to be coming along nicely until a late frost killed them.”

Other meanings

Specifically, near the end of the day.
“It was getting late and I was tired.”
Associated with the end of a period.
“Late Latin is less fully inflected than Classical Latin.”

Related words

be late
early and late
fashionably late
it's never too late to mend
it's too late for sorry
late antique
late binding
late capitalism
late fee
late innings
late lamented
late model

Example sentences

“It's not too late to turn back.”
Tatoeba · ddnktr · CC0
“Is it too late to change the plan?”
Tatoeba · Igider · CC0
“I'm named after my late grandmother.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0

Word history

From Old English "læt" (slow; slack, lax, negligent; late).

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “late” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.