late

/leɪt/

//leɪt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"late" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“late” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #456) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#456
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Near the end of a period of time.

Corpus desk

Index EN-late · late · English

late · rank #456 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #456
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH data

Nearest frequency peer: data (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “late”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “late” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

late vs le
50% similar
late vs Lt
25% similar
late vs lot
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for late
PropertyValue
Headwordlate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/leɪt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#456
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “late” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). late lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for late is neighbouring look-alikes ("le", "Lt", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /leɪt/. Frequency #456 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 10 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for late, with forms such as "alte", "laet", and "llate". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "le", "Lt", "lot", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English late, lat, from Old English læt (“slow; slack, lax, negligent; late”), from Proto-West Germanic *lat, from Proto-Germanic *lataz (“slow, lazy”). By surface analysis, deverbal from let. Cognates Cognate with Yola laate (“late”), North Fri… The correct English form is late, spelled L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Near the end of a period of time.
  2. 2
    Specifically, near the end of the day.
  3. 3
    Associated with the end of a period.
  4. 4
    Not arriving or occurring until after an expected time.
  5. 5
    Levied as a surcharge on a payment which has not arrived by a specified deadline.
  6. 6
    Not having had an expected menstrual period.
  7. 7
    Deceased, dead: used particularly when speaking of the dead person's actions while alive. (Generally must be preceded by a possessive or an article, commonly "the"; see usage notes. Can itself only precede the person's name, never follow it.)
  8. 8
    Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now; departed, or gone out of office.
  9. 9
    Recent — relative to the noun it modifies.
  10. 10
    Of a star or class of stars, cooler than the sun.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how late appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The seedlings appeared to be coming along nicely until a late frost killed them.
  2. The meeting is convened for late morning.

Etymology

From Middle English late, lat, from Old English læt (“slow; slack, lax, negligent; late”), from Proto-West Germanic *lat, from Proto-Germanic *lataz (“slow, lazy”). By surface analysis, deverbal from let. Cognates Cognate with Yola laate (“late”), North Frisian leed, leet, lääs (“late”), Saterland Frisian leet (“late”), Dutch, German Low German laat (“late, tardy”), Danish lad (“languid, lazy, indolent”), Faroese, Icelandic latur (“lazy”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish lat (“lazy”), Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐍄𐍃 (lats, “lazy, slothful”).

Synonyms

late

Antonyms

earlymidmiddle

This word in other languages

tarde(Español)tard(Français)spät(Deutsch)tardio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alte
  • laet
  • llate
  • ltae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of late - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

alte2laet2llate1ltae2
Edit distance from "late"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "late"?
"late" is spelled L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /leɪt/.
What does "late" mean?
As an adjective, "late" means: Near the end of a period of time.
What words are commonly confused with "late"?
"late" is commonly confused with "le", "Lt", "lot". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "late"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "late" is /leɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "late"?
From Middle English late, lat, from Old English læt (“slow; slack, lax, negligent; late”), from Proto-West Germanic *lat, from Proto-Germanic *lataz (“slow, lazy”). By surface analysis, deverbal from let. Cognates Cognate with Yola laate (“late”),... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "late", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

data#455wait#451move#447stay#473

What to do next

You've looked up "late". Here's where to go from here.

  • "late" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "le". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #456 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list