[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/late.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / late

[← L](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/L/)

# late

«late» in Mova's school dictionary: **after the right, usual or planned time: «You are late for…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (late, later, latest); adverb (late, later)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Late means after the right, usual or planned time: «You are late for school». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#m1)

2) Late means near the end of a period of time: late at night, late in summer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#m2)

3) Late can mean having died: «her late grandmother» (polite). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, «late» is about time: being on time is polite and being late can make you miss the bus. In maths problems with time, «20 minutes late» means add 20 minutes to the planned time. Phrases: «stay up late», «too late», «better late than never», «of late» (recently), «at the latest» (no later than), «see you later».

### examples

- Hurry up or we will be late! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x1)
- The train was ten minutes late. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x2)
- I stayed up late to see the fireworks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x3)
- It is too late to change your answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x4)
- Better late than never. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x5)
- Bring your form back by Friday at the latest. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x6)
- We arrived late in the afternoon. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x7)
- Her late grandfather was a fisherman. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x8)
- It was growing late in the autumn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/#x9)

### note

«Late» is both adjective and adverb; «lately» means recently, not «in a late way». «Latest» means newest or the last possible. «Later» means after some time. Opposite: early. Maths: if a bus due at 3:40 is 25 minutes late, it comes at 4:05.

### In the corpora

- [A debit card spends money already in the account; a credit card borrows money that must be paid back later.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/7-cards-banks-and-apps/2/)
- [A debit card spends money already in the account; a credit card borrows money from the card company to be paid back later.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/7-cards-banks-and-apps/11/)
- [Lenders make borrowing look easy: "Cash in minutes!", "Buy now, pay later!".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/4/)
- [Buy now pay later splits a purchase into instalments; it is still borrowing, with charges if a payment is late.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/17/)
- [Grown-ups also tease children about girlfriends and crushes, and older people sometimes find new partners late in life.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/17-gran-cousins-and-the-whole-family/5/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «late» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/late/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.