o        Buy now before it’s too

late. ftJ&Mig,

■ adv. (comparative later, no superlative) 1 after the expected, arranged or usual time jg; life: I got up late.

0 Can I stay up late tonight?

JLH1^? O She has to work late tomorrow, ftXfK 0 The big stores are open later on Thursdays. ££ 0 She married late.

0&o o The birthday card arrived three days late. 40^ 2 near the end of a period of time, a person’s life, etc. igjfiXffi; Xi&X: late in March/ the afternoon H X 'tJ; I#Bfc 0 It happened late last century—in 1895 to be exact.

X'     HtXfE 1895 Xo o As late as (= as

recently as) the 1950s, tuberculosis was still a fatal

iiiness. Mm 20       50 xtt

0 He became an author late in life.

3 near the end of the day l(Si£ 0 ®; klitXlk: There’s a good film on late.          JXf£0 o Late

that evening, there was a knock at the door.

M Alft Mn o 0 Share prices fell early on but rose again late in the day. ||S^JR3Sftfcj&3fci&7, tTc — see also later Win early ITSTCl,better ,late than 'never (.saying) used especially when you, or sb else, arrive/arrives late, or when sth such as success happens late, to say that this is better than not coming or happening at all jgfiJ&l£Xl!j£F; ifiAX&BXAX jjg ,late in the 'day (disapproving) after the time when an action could be successful ^ Bf B ; B A ® ft: He started working hard much too late in the day—he couldn’t possibly catch up. i&jf Jl Xft ti X H X. Bfe —- Xft t^lfX 7 o late of ... (formal) until recently working or living in the place mentioned M M JR ifi X ff ( ^fgrfi ) (ft ifeX: Professor Jones, late of Oxford University M$\XXm'-&fEX'^ AXff       of

'late {formal) recently ftg; Hfi£;        I haven’t seen

him of late. ficftjlJEM fife <, too 'late after the time when it is possible to do sth successfully MIS;

She’s left it too late to apply for the job.

1                  realized the truth too late. i;0&7o — more at soon

GRAMMAR POINT ig&iM late♦lately

■                  Late and lately are both adverbs, but late is used with similar meanings to the adjective late, whereas lately can only mean ‘recently’. * late ffl lately #T>j gijiiil, fg. late XXXWialW late EAftfW, ffi lately

We arrived two hours late. Ifcfrijgfij 7MX®0 o I haven’t heard from him lately. ftftjii Lately is usually used with a perfect tense of the verb. * lately

■                  Look also at the idioms be too late (at the adjective) and too late (at the adverb). M JEftiff be too late

(mmmnfr) m too late ()»

latecomer /'leitkAma(r)/ noun a person who arrives lately#; *ig#

late ly /'leitli/ adv. recently; in the recent past ftifc; iff iff; iff X; X X HU: Have you seen her lately? ® ft iff JSL O It’s only lately that she’s been well enough to goout.mRM&j&*m£.,        <>(BrE)

I haven’t been sleeping well just lately.

IlHX^^o o She had lately returned from India. XX

late- night adj. [only before noun] happening late at night; available after other things finish         Xf£

ftI; ( ^flfe^‘If tgXM ) ft %3\ ftj: a late-night movie X 0 late-night shopping

la-tent /‘leitnt/ adj. [usually before noun] existing, but not yet very noticeable, active or well developed Ttft ftJ ; HUftJ: latent disease $£fttt^^ 0 These children have a huge reserve of latent talent.

► la-tency /'leitansi/ noun [U]

I 1139

later (Hr /'leita(r)/ adv., adj.

m adv. 1 at a time in the future; after the time you are talking about MX; tU /n ; IS; U® M: See you later. 0 ^cJSLo 0 I met her again three years later. HX/EfffcX i§ jjjl ftfe T 0 0 His father died later that year. IP X # N" fife ftj X X X tM: 7 o 0 We’re going to Rome later in the year. Hcd¥l*ll&£2£tf£^SI^5f£o 0 She later became a doctor, jflfe M X ^ 7 BE X „ EOH earlier 2 Later! (informal) a way of saying goodbye, used by young people (      ) #JE: Later, guys! ft it

fa, ft JE ! fT>T71 later 'on (informal) at a time in the future; after the time you are talking about M X; LU Js;  Btls: I’m going out later on.

Hj „ o Much later on, she realized what he had meant. M 7£F-|£N‘|b], MX^fififeftfiiJiSo not/no later than ... by a particular time and not after it X ife X • • •; X IS X Please arrive no later than 8 o’clock, i# 8 ^CXliU M&o

m adj. [only before noun] 1 coming after sth else or at a time in the future MX ftj; tUMftJ: This is discussed in more detail in a later chapter.

X 7 H ft) ft i£ 0 O The match has been postponed to a later date. tfc^BftHiSI!] IMMftj^X-0  o

2                  near the end of a period of time, life, etc. iff X $1 (Kj ; X (ft : the later part of the seventeenth century * 17 tH7BXH+ 0 She found happiness in her later years.

MXi&XXXffXfilo Win EARLIER fTiTTCl see SOON

lateral /'laetaral/ adj., noun

madj. [usually before noun] (technical Xilf) connected with the side of sth or with movement to the side ffj] ®        ;

ft fn) (ft; 0 ft] ffi (ft: the lateral branches of a tree 0 lateral eye movements IHBf (tfj WftJis^J ► lat- eral-ly /'laetarali/ adv.

mnoun (also ,lateral 'consonant) (phonetics ^) a consonant sound which is produced by placing a part of the tongue against the palate so that air flows around it on both sides, for example /l/ in lie lie III

.lateral 'thinking noun [u] (especially Brf) a way of solving problems by using your imagination to find new ways of looking at the problem XX®#,    0 Jg.

m ()

latest On* /'leitist/ adj., noun

m adj. [only before noun] the most recent or newest ft W: the latest unemployment figures ftfrX:Jk o the latest craze/fashion/trend ftff   / th

® o her latest novel ^ftiS#        0 Have you heard

the latest news?

■ noun [U] the latest (informal) the most recent or the newest thing or piece of news ft Iff $    ; ft §f J.:

This is the latest in robot technology. iilftl^flliA feXo 0 Have you heard the latest?         l!,7

? IT»T71 at the ' latest no later than the time or the date mentioned ft jg; ftB&; jgjfi: Applications should be in by next Monday at the latest. ftig^XXM^-^ii

latex /'leiteks/ noun [U] 1 a thick white liquid that is produced by some plants and trees, especially rubber trees. Latex becomes solid when exposed to air, and is used to make medical products. (    ) K?L; ( Xis

) %%■. latex gloves        2 an artificial

substance similar to this that is used to make paints, glues, etc. AXMf&mi (         )

lath /la:0; NAmE laeG/ noun (pi. laths /la:0s; NAmE laedz/) a thin narrow strip of wood that is used to support plaster (= material used for covering walls) on the inside walls and the ceilings of buildings fk ® ^; ft fc; ft®

lathe /leiS/ noun a machine that shapes pieces of wood or metal by holding and turning them against a fixed cutting tool XX

la ther /'la:60(r); NAmE 'lmS-/ noun, verb

mnoun [U, sing.] a white mass of small bubbles that is produced by mixing soap with water ( X;ftl# )

M get into a lather | work yourself into a 'lather (BrE, informal) to get anxious or angry about