UUnscrambleHQ
Home/late
UnscrambleHQ Dictionary

late

/leɪt/adjective · adverb

Late is also used as adjective or adverb, with meanings including being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time or later than usual or than expected.

11 meanings4 lettersScrabble 4

Length

4

Scrabble

4

WWF

5

Starts

LA

Ends

ATE

Difficulty

Easy

Dictionary

What Does “LATE” Mean?

/leɪt/

late has 11 documented senses across adjective, adverb.

Adjective

7 senses
1

being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time

late evening

late 18th century

a late movie

took a late flight

2

after the expected or usual time; delayed

a belated birthday card

I'm late for the plane

the train is late

tardy children are sent to the principal

Synonyms

3

of the immediate past or just previous to the present time

a late development

their late quarrel

his recent trip to Africa

in recent months

Synonyms

4

having died recently

her late husband

5

of a later stage in the development of a language or literature; used especially of dead languages

Late Greek

6

at or toward an end or late period or stage of development

the late phase of feudalism

a later symptom of the disease

later medical science could have saved the child

Synonyms

Show 1 more adjective definition
7

(used especially of persons) of the immediate past

the former president

our late President is still very active

the previous occupant of the White House

Adverb

4 senses
1

later than usual or than expected

the train arrived late

we awoke late

the children came late to school

notice came so tardily that we almost missed the deadline

2

to an advanced time

deep into the night

talked late into the evening

Synonyms

3

at an advanced age or stage

she married late

undertook the project late in her career

4

in the recent past

he was in Paris recently

lately the rules have been enforced

as late as yesterday she was fine

feeling better of late

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

4

Vowels

2

Consonants

2

Word Intelligence

Explore the word late with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.

Definition

being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time

Length

4 letters

Starts With

L

Ends With

E

Vowels

2

Consonants

2

Letters

L, A, T, E

Use Case

Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.

Letter Breakdown

l
a
t
e

Word Facts

Key letter, score, and pattern facts for late.

LATE is a 4-letter word.
It has a Scrabble score of 4.
It starts with L and ends with E.
It contains 2 vowels and 2 consonants.
Its vowel share is about 50%.
It is an isogram, meaning no letter repeats.
It is not a palindrome.
Letter pattern: ABCD.
Vowel/consonant pattern: CVCV.

Word Strategy

Strategy notes for using late in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.

Scrabble Strategy

★★☆☆☆

LATE has a Scrabble score of 4. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.

Wordle Strategy

★★☆☆☆

LATE is not five letters, so it is not a standard Wordle answer, but its letter pattern can still help with word analysis.

Crossword Strategy

★★★★☆

LATE can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 4-letter structure.

Anagram Strategy

★★★★☆

LATE uses unique letters, giving more flexibility when checking possible anagrams and word game combinations.

Letter Intelligence

A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside late.

Unique Letters

4

Repeated Letters

0

Highest Value Letter

L

Letter Pattern

ABCD

CV Pattern

CVCV

Vowel Share

50%

Consonant Share

50%

Bigrams

LA, AT, TE

Trigrams

LAT, ATE

Crossword Intelligence

Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for late.

LATE is a 4-letter short fill.
It starts with L and ends with E, which helps narrow crossword crossings.
It contains 2 vowels and 2 consonants.
Its vowel/consonant pattern is CVCV.
Crossword difficulty estimate: Easy.

Related Words

Word Usage Insights

Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.

This word contains 4 letters and is suitable for medium-length word games.
Its consonant/vowel pattern is CVCV, making it relatively easy to recognize.
With a Scrabble score of 4, it offers moderate scoring potential.
The word begins with L and ends with E, making it useful for solving pattern-based puzzles.
Every letter appears only once.

Word Intelligence Links

Explore word lists connected to LATE by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.

Word Family

Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with late.

Related Word Tools

Explore related word lists, patterns, and tools connected to this page.