Definition of "late" []

• Coming, occurring, or remaining after the correct, usual, or expected time; delayed: The bus is late. See Synonyms at tardy. (adjective)
• Beginning after or continuing past the usual or expected hour: a late breakfast; a late meeting. (adjective)
• Occurring at an advanced hour, especially well into the evening or night: a late movie on television; the late flight to Denver. (adjective)
• Of or toward the end or more advanced part, as of a period or stage: the late 19th century; a later symptom of the disease. (adjective)
• Having begun or occurred just previous to the present time; recent: a late development. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "They looked everywhere for his late (yes, his _late_) companion; but she had vanished."
• "Hobler replied that the loss of the title was not by the late Lord Mayor but by the _late_ Prince of Wales."
• "Some people are too late for everything but ruin; when a nobleman apologized to George III. for being late, and said, "better late than never," the king replied, "No, I say, _better never than late_.""