later

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

lat·er

(lā′tər)

adj.Comparative of late

adv.Comparative of late

Subsequently; afterward. Often used with on: She arrived on the ferry, and he came later. He later felt that he was wrong. Later on, we watched a movie.

interj.

Informal Used to express goodbye.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

later

(ˈleɪtə)

adj, adv

the comparative of late

adv

1. afterwards; subsequently

2. see you later an expression of farewell

3. sooner or later eventually; inevitably

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lat•er

(ˈleɪ tər)
adj., adv.

a compar. of late.

after

– afterwards – later

1. 'after'

After is usually a preposition. If something happens after a particular time or event, it happens during the period that follows that time or event.

Vineeta came in just after midnight.

We'll hear about everything after dinner.

You can say that someone does something after doing something else.

After leaving school he worked as an accountant.

After completing and signing the form, please return it to me.

Be Careful!
Don't say that someone is 'after' a particular age. You say that they are over that age.

She was well over fifty.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'after' to say that something is at the back of something else. The word you use is behind.

I've parked behind the school.

2. 'afterwards'

Afterwards is an adverb. If something happens afterwards, it happens after a particular event or time that has already been mentioned. You often use afterwards in expressions like not long afterwards, soon afterwards, and shortly afterwards.

She died soon afterwards.

Shortly afterwards her marriage broke up.

3. 'afterward'

Afterward is also sometimes used, especially in American English.

I left soon afterward.

Not long afterward, he made a trip from L.A. to San Jose.

4. 'later'

Later is an adverb. You use later to refer to a time or situation that follows the time when you are speaking.

I'll go and see her later.

A little, much, and not much can be used with later.

A little later, the lights went out.

I learned all this much later.

You can use after, afterwards, or later following a phrase that mentions a period of time, in order to say when something happens.

I met him five years after his wife's death.

She wrote about it six years afterwards.

Ten minutes later he left the house.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	later - coming at a subsequent time or stage; "without ulterior argument"; "the mood posterior to" posterior, ulterior subsequent - following in time or order; "subsequent developments"
	2.	later - 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" late early - being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
Adv.	1.	later - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here later"; "it didn't happen until afterward"; "two hours after that" after, afterward, afterwards, later on, subsequently
	2.	later - at some eventual time in the future; "By and by he'll understand"; "I'll see you later" by and by
	3.	later - comparative of the adverb `late'; "he stayed later than you did"

later

adverb afterwards, after, next, eventually, in time, subsequently, later on, thereafter, in a while, in due course, at a later date, by and by, at a later time, L8R (S.M.S.) I'll join you later.

adjective subsequent, next, following, ensuing, L8R (S.M.S.) at a later news conference

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

later

adjective

1. Following something else in time:

after, posterior, subsequent, ulterior.

2. Being or occurring in the time ahead:

coming, future, subsequent.

adverb

At a subsequent time:

after, afterward, afterwards, latterly, next, subsequently, ulteriorly.

Idioms: after a while, by and by, later on.

Translations

بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ

později

senere

später nach nachmalig

αργότερα

luego más tarde posterior ya

myöhemminmyöhempinähdään

à plusplus tard postérieur postérieurement ultérieurement

kasnijeposlije

utóbb

heyrumstsjáumst

comp. di late dopo più tardi posteriore successivamente

あとで

나중에

later

senere

później późniejszynara

depois mais tarde

позже потом спустя после

kasnejepotem

senare

ตอนหลัง

daha sonra

muộn hơn

后来

later

[ˈleɪtəʳ]

A. ADV

1. → más tarde
the gun was later found in his flat → más tarde se encontró la pistola en su piso
two years/ten minutes later → dos años/diez minutos después or más tarde
I'll do it later → lo haré luego or más tarde
later, when all the guests had left → luego or más tarde, cuando todos los invitados se habían marchado
later I discovered that he had lied → más tarde descubrí que había mentido
several whiskies later, I was rather the worse for wear → después de varios whiskies, se me empezaban a notar los efectos
later than expected → más tarde de lo esperado
all essays should be handed in no later than Monday → todos los trabajos deben entregarse el lunes a más tardar
only later → sólo más tarde
it was only later that I learned the truth → no descubrí la verdad hasta más tarde, sólo más tarde descubrí la verdad
later that day → más tarde or posteriormente ese día
later that morning/night → más tarde or posteriormente esa mañana/esa noche
the results will be available later today → los resultados se sabrán hoy mismo más tarde
see also see ¹ 2
see also sooner 1

2.
later on → más tarde, más adelante
we'll be dealing with this in more detail later on → trataremos esto a fondo más tarde or más adelante
later on that day/night → aquel día/aquella noche más tarde
later on in the play/film → más adelante en la obra/película
later on in the morning/afternoon/evening → más entrada la mañana/tarde/noche
later on in life → más adelante

B. ADJ [chapter, version, work] → posterior
I took a later flight/train → tomé un avión/tren que salía más tarde
we plan to meet at a later date → tenemos intención de reunirnos más adelante
in later life → más adelante
at a later stage → más adelante

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

later

[ˈleɪtə^r]

adj

[date, meeting] → ultérieur(e)

(= version, edition) → ultérieur(e)
He changed his approach in later editions → Il a changé son approche dans les éditions ultérieures.

in later life → sur le tard

adv → plus tard
I'll do it later → Je ferai ça plus tard.
Burke later admitted he had lied → Burke admit plus tard qu'il avait menti.
see you later! → à tout à l'heure!, à plus tard !
some time later → quelque temps après
some weeks later → quelques semaines plus tard
some years later → quelques années plus tard
six years later → six ans plus tard
later on → ensuite
Later on I'll be speaking to Patty Davis → Je parlerai ensuite à Patty Davis.
later on today → plus tard dans la journée

excl (= see you later) → à plus!

later

adj → später; at a later hour, at a later time → später, zu einer späteren Zeit; this version is later than that one → diese Version ist neuer als die andere; in (his) later years or life → in späteren Jahren, in seinem späteren Leben

adv → später; Mr Smith, later to become Sir John → Mr Smith, der spätere Sir John; the weather cleared up later (on) in the day → das Wetter klärte sich im Laufe des Tages auf; later (on) that night/week/day → später in der Nacht/Woche/an dem Tag; later (on) in life → später im Leben, in späteren Jahren; later (on) in the play → im weiteren Verlauf des Stückes; I’ll tell you later (on) → ich erzähle es dir später; a moment later → einen Augenblick später, im nächsten Augenblick; see you later! → bis nachher, bis später; I saw him no later than yesterday → ich habe ihn (erst) gestern noch gesehen; come at 7 o’clock and no later → komm um 7 Uhr und nicht or keine Minute später; not later than 1995 → spätestens 1995; they must be handed in no later than Monday → sie müssen bis spätestens Montag abgegeben werden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

later

[ˈleɪtəʳ]

1. adv (late (comp of))

a. (not on time) → più tardi

b. (after) → dopo, più tardi
a few years later → pochi anni dopo or più tardi

c. later on (in series of events) → più avanti; (in time) → più tardi
later on today → più tardi

2. adj (late (comp of)) (meeting, train) → successivo/a; (edition, version) → più recente, successivo/a; (date) → posteriore
he was later than usual → è arrivato più tardi del solito
Easter is later this year → Pasqua cade più tardi quest'anno
at a later stage or date → in un secondo momento
his later symphonies → le sue ultime sinfonie
this version is later than that one → questa versione è posteriore a or più recente di quella

later

→ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ později senere später αργότερα más tarde myöhemmin plus tard kasnije successivamente あとで 나중에 later senere później mais tarde позже senare ตอนหลัง daha sonra muộn hơn 后来

later

a., comp. of late.

adv. más tarde, luego, después.

later

adv más tarde

References in classic literature ?

Several weeks later, Joseph Parkhurst, the prison doctor who had just been appointed, proved himself to be a member of one of the Fighting Groups.

View in context

The early Greek epic -- that is, poetry as a natural and popular, and not (as it became later) an artificial and academic literary form -- passed through the usual three phases, of development, of maturity, and of decline.

View in context

But later too, and the next day and the third day, she still found no words in which she could express the complexity of her feelings; indeed, she could not even find thoughts in which she could clearly think out all that was in her soul.

View in context

A moment later a horde of terrified natives burst from the jungle, racing toward the shelter of their huts.

View in context

Sometime later Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan returned to report that Zodanga had been completely reduced.

View in context

Thomson assented, and a few minutes later Granet entered the room.

View in context

As we approached it my escort broke into wild shouting which was immediately answered from within, and a moment later a swarm of creatures of the same strange race as those who had captured me poured out to meet us.

View in context

There have been occasions in my later life (I suppose as in most lives) when I have felt for a time as if a thick curtain had fallen on all its interest and romance, to shut me out from anything save dull endurance any more.

View in context

Later he sat there and ran the first presidential telephone campaign; talked to his managers in thirty-eight States.

View in context

A moment later De Coude was apologizing to his host as he tore open the envelope.

View in context

The vocabulary, adapted to the unlearned readers, is more largely Saxon than in our later versions, and the older inflected forms appear oftener than in Chaucer; so that it is only through our knowledge of the later versions that we to-day can read the work without frequent stumbling.

View in context

One of the privileges of a freedman in the ancient republics of Greece, was the permission to take an active interest in public affairs; and Aesop, like the philosophers Phaedo, Menippus, and Epictetus, in later times, raised himself from the indignity of a servile condition to a position of high renown.