5 ADJ You use late when you are talking about someone who is dead, especially someone who has died recently. □ …my late husband. □ …the late Mr Parkin.
6 ADJ Someone who is late of a particular place or institution lived or worked there until recently. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] …Cousin Zachary, late of Bellevue Avenue. □ [+ of ] The restaurant is managed by Angelo, late of the Savoy Grill.
7 → see also later , latest
8 CONVENTION If you say better late than never when someone has done something, you think they should have done it earlier. □ It's been a long time coming but better late than never.
9 PHRASE If you say that someone is doing something late in the day , you mean that their action or behaviour may not be fully effective because they have waited too long before doing it. □ I'd left it all too late in the day to get anywhere with these strategies.
10 PHRASE If an action or event is too late , it is useless or ineffective because it occurs after the best time for it. □ It was too late to turn back. □ We realized too late that we were caught like rats in a trap.
11 a late night → see night SYNONYMS late ADJ 3
overdue: I'll go home and pay an overdue visit to my mother.
tardy: I was as tardy as ever for the afternoon appointments.
belated: …a belated birthday present.
late|comer /le I tkʌmə r / (latecomers ) N‑COUNT A latecomer is someone who arrives after the time that they should have done, or later than others. □ The latecomers stood just outside at door and window.
late|ly /le I tli/
1 ADV [ADV with v] You use lately to describe events in the recent past, or situations that started a short time ago. □ Dad's health hasn't been too good lately. □ Lord Tomas had lately been appointed Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies. □ 'Have you talked to her lately?'
2 ADV You can use lately to refer to the job a person has been doing until recently. [FORMAL ] □ …Timothy Jean Geoffrey Pratt, lately deputy treasury solicitor.
la te-night
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Late-night is used to describe events, especially entertainments, that happen late in the evening or late at night. □ …his late-night show on BBC Radio One. □ …late-night drinking parties.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Late-night is used to describe services that are available late at night and do not shut when most commercial activities finish. □ Saturday night was a late-night shopping night. □ …late-night trains.
la|tent /le I t ə nt/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Latent is used to describe something which is hidden and not obvious at the moment, but which may develop further in the future. □ Advertisements attempt to project a latent meaning behind an overt message.
lat|er ◆◆◆ /le I tə r /
1 Later is the comparative of late .
2 ADV You use later to refer to a time or situation that is after the one that you have been talking about or after the present one. □ He resigned ten years later. □ I'll join you later. □ Burke later admitted he had lied. ● PHRASE You use later on to refer to a time or situation that is after the one that you have been talking about or after the present one. □ Later on I'll be speaking to the film's director. □ This is only going to cause me more problems later on.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] You use later to refer to an event, period of time, or other thing which comes after the one that you have been talking about or after the present one. □ At a later news conference, he said differences should not be dramatized. □ The competition should have been re-scheduled for a later date.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] You use later to refer to the last part of someone's life or career or the last part of a period of history. □ He found happiness in later life. □ In his later years he wrote very little. □ …the later part of the 20th century.
5 → see also late
6 sooner or later → see sooner
lat|er|al /læ tərəl/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Lateral means relating to the sides of something, or moving in a sideways direction. □ McKinnon estimated the lateral movement of the bridge to be between four and six inches. ● lat|er|al|ly ADV [usu ADV after v] □ Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally.
la t|er|al thi nk|ing N‑UNCOUNT Lateral thinking is a method of solving problems by using your imagination to help you think of solutions that are not obvious at first. [mainly BRIT ]
lat|est ◆◆◇ /le I t I st/
1 Latest is the superlative of late .
2 ADJ You use latest to describe something that is the most recent thing of its kind. □ …her latest book. □ Latest reports say another five people have been killed.
3 ADJ You can use latest to describe something that is very new and modern and is better than older things of a similar kind. □ Crooks are using the latest laser photocopiers to produce millions of fake banknotes. □ I got to drive the latest model. □ [+ in ] Computers have always represented the latest in technology. [Also + of ]
4 → see also late
5 PHRASE You use at the latest in order to indicate that something must happen at or before a particular time and not after that time. [EMPHASIS ] □ She should be back by ten o'clock at the latest.