Basic+ Word of the Day: late

late (adjective)

I'm late for work!

If you are late, it means that you arrive after the time that you should be there.

• I was late for work today.

If you do something late, it means that you do it after the time that you normally do it.

• I usually wake up late on Sundays.

Late can also mean ‘at the end of a period of time.’

• He said that he'll arrive in the late afternoon.

Common uses

Near the end of the day, when we want to say that we should leave because it is time to do something else, we often say that it is getting late. For example, “It’s getting late. I should go home and sleep. I have to wake up early in the morning.”

In pop culture

In the US, late night television starts around 10pm or 11pm. There are many popular talk shows with celebrities in late night TV. The classic “late show” from the 20th century was with Johnny Carson. Listen to the famous introduction of his show, as a man says, “Here’s Johnny!” Do you recognize any of his guests?

There are other meanings of late.