lately

adverb

late·​ly ˈlāt-lē How to pronounce lately (audio)
Synonyms of latelynext
: of late : recently
has been friendlier lately

Synonyms of lately

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of lately in a Sentence

He has been feeling better lately. Lately, she has been worrying about her son.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In a Substack post on Thursday, the economics professor at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center acknowledged that the high debt and deficits driving up French bond yields lately are not unique to the eurozone’s second largest economy. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026 People have a lot of preconceptions about country music, especially lately. — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 Jake Johnson has been making a ton of moves lately in his acting career, segueing from one high profile project to the next. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026 The sometimes divisive socks-and-heels layering trend, which has been gaining steam lately, is deemed A-OK in Reese’s book. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lately

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lately was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing lately

Rhymes for lately

See All Rhymes for lately

Browse Nearby Words

Late Latin
lately
late-magmatic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lately. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

lately

adverb
late·​ly ˈlāt-lē How to pronounce lately (audio)
: not long ago
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of deportment

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All