INDEX:
1. arriving or leaving late
2. what you say when someone or something is late
3. later than usual
4. what you say when someone or something is late
5. to have done less than you planned to do
6. too late
7. late at night
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ EARLY
make someone or something late : ↑ DELAY
at the right time : ↑ ON TIME
when someone or something is almost too late : ↑ ON TIME (3)
see also
↑ LATER
↑ AFTER
↑ TIME
◆◆◆
1. arriving or leaving late
▷ late /leɪt/ [adjective/adverb]
arriving or leaving after the time that was arranged :
▪ Andrew arrived late, as usual.
be late
▪ Sorry I’m late - my car wouldn’t start.
late for
▪ She often arrives late for work.
5 minutes/2 days etc late
▪ As usual, the bus was half an hour late.
late arrival/departure
▪ We apologize for the late arrival of Flight AZ709.
▷ not on time /nɒt ɒn ˈtaɪm/ [adverb]
not arriving or leaving at the time that was arranged :
▪ The buses are never on time.
▪ She knew if she wasn’t on time that day she’d lose her job.
▪ If we don’t leave on time, we’ll miss the flight!
▷ latecomer /ˈleɪtˌkʌməʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who arrives after the time that something such as a meeting, play, or concert is supposed to start :
▪ Latecomers will not be allowed into the concert hall until the interval.
2. what you say when someone or something is late
▷ where have you been? /ˌweəʳ həv juː ˈbiːnǁ-ˈbɪn/ spoken
say this when someone arrives very late and you want to know why, because you are worried or annoyed :
▪ Where have you been? You said you’d be here at three!
▷ what kept you? /wɒt ˈkept juː/ spoken
say this when someone arrives late and you are a little annoyed :
▪ ‘What kept you?’ ‘I couldn’t find my glasses.’
▷ about time too British /it’s about time American /əˌbaʊt ˌtaɪm ˈtuː, ɪts əˌbaʊt ˈtaɪm/ spoken
say this when someone or something arrives or does something late, and you are annoyed because you have been waiting a long time :
▪ ‘Look, here’s the bus.’ ‘It’s about time!’
▷ what time do you call this? /wɒt ˌtaɪm duː juː ˌkɔːl ˈðɪs/ British spoken
say this when you are annoyed with someone because they have arrived very late :
▪ What time do you call this, Martin? You were supposed to be here half an hour ago.
▷ better late than never /ˌbetəʳ ˌleɪt ð ə n ˈnevəʳ/ spoken
say this when someone or something arrives or does something late but it does not matter very much :
▪ ‘The pictures have finally arrived.’ ‘Well, better late than never.’
▷ is that the time? /ɪz ˌðæt ðə ˈtaɪm/ British
say this when you suddenly realize that it is later than you thought it was :
▪ Oh my god, is that the time? I’ve got to go!
3. later than usual
▷ late /leɪt/ [adverb/adjective]
▪ The library stays open late on Fridays.
be late
▪ The harvest was late this year because of the bad weather.
work late
stay at work till later than usual
▪ I’m afraid I’ll have to work late again tomorrow.
get up late
▪ It’s really nice to get up late on Saturday mornings.
a late breakfast/lunch etc
▪ ‘Where’s Bill?’ ‘He’s having a late lunch.’
▷ late in life /ˌleɪt ɪn ˈlaɪf/ [adverb]
if you do something late in life, you do it when you are older than the age at which people usually do it :
▪ Greg got married late in life.
▪ Carter and Reagan had come into politics relatively late in life.
4. what you say when someone or something is late
▷ late /leɪt/ [adverb/adjective]
▪ The meeting started late.
▪ There are severe penalties for late payment of bills.
15 minutes/3 days etc late
▪ Tony handed in his homework a day late.
▷ overdue /ˌəʊvəʳˈdjuː◂ǁ-ˈduː◂/ [adjective]
use this about payments that should have been made or library books that should have been returned before now :
▪ I must take these books back to the library - they’re overdue.
three weeks/two months etc overdue
▪ The rent’s three weeks overdue.
▷ be behind with /biː bɪˈhaɪnd wɪð/ [verb phrase]
to have not made one or more regular payments at the time when you should :
▪ Jim’s worried because he’s behind with his loan repayments.
be two months etc behind with something
▪ You’re two months behind with the rent.
get/fall behind with something
start to make payments late
▪ I’m getting behind with the mortgage and I don’t know how I’m going to pay it.
▪ Even when people fall behind with their payments, they continue to take on financial commitments.
▷ be in arrears /biː ɪn əˈrɪəʳz/ [verb phrase]
to have not made one or more regular payments at the time when you should :
▪ In some areas, two out of three tenants are in arrears.
be in arrears with
▪ Many countries are in arrears with their contributions.
be two months etc in arrears
▪ Over 60,000 Londoners are more than three months in arrears with their mortgage repayments.
get/fall into arrears
▪ The tax bills are sent out annually, so it’s very easy for small employers to fall into arrears.
▷ belated /bɪˈleɪtɪd, bɪˈleɪtəd/ [adjective only before noun]
done or given later than it should have been, usually with the result that it does not have the effect that it should have :
▪ John made a belated attempt to apologize.
▪ I got a belated birthday card from my cousin yesterday.
▪ her belated realisation that he was in love with someone else
▷ you’re late /jɔːʳ ˈleɪt/ spoken
use this when someone arrives somewhere late :
▪ You’re late! Hurry up and get your books out and get on with your work.
▪ You’re late again, Chris! You’ll be in trouble if you don’t get your act together soon.
5. to have done less than you planned to do
▷ be behind /biː bɪˈhaɪnd/ [verb phrase] informal
to have done less of your work than you planned to do or should have done :
▪ If you’re so far behind that you can’t finish it on time, give me a call and I’ll come and help.
be behind with
▪ I’ve got to stay late tonight because I’m a bit behind with my work.
get behind
▪ If you don’t do your homework every week, you’ll get behind in your studies.
way behind
very much behind
▪ We were way behind on the budget planning already when the new project came in.
▷ be behind schedule /biː bɪˌhaɪnd ˈʃedʒuːlǁ-ˈskedʒʊl/ [verb phrase]
to be doing each part of a planned series of activities later than you planned to do it :
▪ Sorry, I can’t talk now - I’m behind schedule as it is.
be six months etc behind schedule
▪ The tunnel project is now 18 months behind schedule and £300 million over budget.
▷ be running late /biː ˌrʌnɪŋ ˈleɪt/ [verb phrase]
to have spent longer than planned doing the first part of something or the first of a series of activities :
▪ We’re running late - we’ll have to hurry if we want to catch the 5 o'clock train.
▪ The Queen’s visit to the factory was running late, so she did not come to see the production department.
6. too late
▷ too late /tuː ˈleɪt/ [adjective/adverb phrase]
so late that you cannot do or achieve what you had planned :
▪ I’m afraid you’re too late - I’ve just sold the last ticket.
arrive/finish etc too late
▪ We rushed to the store as soon as we left work but arrived too late.
too late to do something
▪ They got to the airport too late to catch the plane.
it is too late (to do something)
▪ By the time the doctor arrived, it was too late; he was already dead.
▪ It’s never too late to learn a new language.
▷ miss /mɪs/ [transitive verb]
to arrive too late to see an event, film etc, or too late to get on a plane, train etc :
▪ You’d better hurry or you’ll miss the start of the show.
miss the flight/train/bus/ferry
▪ I missed the bus and had to wait half an hour for the next one.
▷ it’s a little late also a bit late in the day British /ɪts ə ˌlɪtl ˈleɪt, ə bɪt ˌleɪt ɪn ðə ˈdeɪ/ spoken
you say it’s a little late when someone decides to do something but harm has already been done or there is no time left to do it :
it’s a little late for
▪ Perhaps it’s a bit late in the day for apologies.
it’s a little late to do something
▪ It’s a little late to start worrying about that now.
▷ leave it too late/a bit late British also let it go too long American /ˌliːv ɪt tuː ˈleɪt, ə ˌbɪt ˈleɪt, let ɪt ˌgəʊ tuː ˈlɒŋǁ-ˈlɔːŋ/ [verb phrase]
to wait too long before doing something so that you are not likely to achieve what you hoped to achieve :
▪ At last the government has decided to lower interest rates, but I think they’ve let it go too long.
leave it too late/a bit late to do something
▪ You might have left it a bit too late to apply for a place at university for this academic year.
7. late at night
▷ late /leɪt/ [adverb/adjective]
it’s late
▪ Look, it’s late and I’m tired - let’s talk about this tomorrow.
it’s getting late
▪ I must go home now, it’s getting late.
late at night
▪ I don’t like coming home late at night to an empty house.
stay up late
not go to bed until late
▪ They stayed up late to watch the end of the match.
have a late night
when you go to bed very late
▪ You look as if you’ve been having too many late nights recently.
▷ the middle of the night /ɪn ðə ˌmɪdl əv ðə ˈnaɪt/ [noun phrase]
late at night when most people are asleep :
▪ In the middle of the night, I was woken by a loud noise downstairs.
▪ Helen opened the door. ‘Dave? What’s wrong? It’s the middle of the night!’
▷ late-night /ˈleɪt naɪt/ [adjective only before noun]
happening or shown late at night :
▪ They kept us awake with their late-night parties.
▪ late-night television
▪ They stopped off for a late-night drink.
▷ last thing at night /ˌlɑːst θɪŋ ət ˈnaɪtǁˌlæst-/ [adverb] informal
just before you go to bed :
▪ The soldiers are supposed to polish their shoes last thing at night.
▷ the early hours /ði ˈɜːʳli ˌaʊəʳz/ [noun phrase]
a time which is very late at night, between about 1 o'clock and 4 o'clock in the morning :
▪ The club didn’t close till the early hours.
the early hours of the morning
▪ They reached San Francisco in the early hours of the morning.
▷ till all hours /tɪl ˌɔːl ˈaʊəʳz/ [adverb] informal
until very late at night - use this when you are annoyed by someone doing something too late at night :
▪ She and her friends used to stay out till all hours, going from club to club.
▪ Better not wake her - she was up till all hours last night, working.