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later

adverb · adjective

Simple meaning

At a time after now, or at some point in the future

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

layter

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈleɪtɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. Afterward in time (used with than when comparing with another time).

  2. At some eventual time in the future

  3. At some unspecified time in the future.

  4. Happening at a time subsequent to a reference time

adjective

  1. At some time in the future.

  2. Coming afterward in time (used with than when comparing with another time).

  3. Coming afterward in distance (following an antecedent distance as embedded within an adverbial phrase)

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Afterward in time (used with than when comparing with another time).

Used this way, later is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • lateralnounDerived noun

    A pass to a receiver upfield from the passer.

  • laterallyadverbDerived adverb

    To or by or from the side.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • later onadverbCompound term

    Happening at a time subsequent to a reference time.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.