late
Pronunciation: /leɪt/
adjective
- 1doing something or taking place after the expected, proper, or usual time: his late arrival she was half an hour late for her lunch appointment
- 2belonging or taking place far on in a particular period: they won the game with a late goal an elegantly dressed woman in her late fifties
- denoting or belonging to the advanced stage of a historical period or cultural movement: the late 1960s late Gothic style
- far on in the day or night: I’m sorry the call is so late it’s too late for sherry
- flowering or ripening towards the end of the season: the last late chrysanthemums
adverb

Phrases
-
at the latest
- no later than the time specified: all new cars will be required to meet this standard by 1997 at the latest
-
late in the day (or North American game)
- at a late stage in proceedings, especially too late to be useful: it’s a bit late in the day to go into all this
-
of late
- recently: she’d been drinking too much of late
