too little, too late

phrase

Used as a predicate or a pro-sentence to indicate insufficiency.

“That's just half what was due last week. Too little, too late.”

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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticUsed as a predicate or a pro-sentence to indicate insufficiency.

    That's just half what was due last week. Too little, too late.

    4 more examples

    Committing half his reserves nearly three hours after the attack was too little, too late.

    Finally, the island’s delicate balance could take no more as the sheer weight of the buildings and people on the northern part of the island caused it to tip on one end. Those who weren’t immediately drowned raced uphill for the center of Atlantis, in the hope of restoring the balance. But it was too little, too late, and the whole thing slid quietly into the ocean.

    2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “The murky world from whence it all came” (chapter 2), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 37

    Jones forced a header over the line after Danny Welbeck was denied from close range and fellow substitute Federico Macheda hit the woodwork, but it was too little, too late.

    2011 December 7, David Ornstein, “FC Basel 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport

    The Spanish government’s efforts to tackle the economic turmoil unleashed by the Covid pandemic were “too little, too late and too few”, according to a report that finds thousands of people are still reliant on emergency food aid and facing even greater hardship as prices soar.

    2022 July 14, Sam Jones, “Spanish response to Covid poverty was too little, too late, report says”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 太少，太遲 /太少, 太迟
  • 太少，太遲 /太少Translations
  • 太迟 (tài shǎo, tài chí)Translations
Finnish liian vähän, liian myöhään
  • liian vähän, liian myöhäänTranslations
German zu spät und zu wenig, zwar verspätet, dafür aber nur halb
  • zu spät und zu wenigTranslations
  • zwar verspätet, dafür aber nur halbTranslations
Hebrew מעט מדי, מאוחר מדי
  • מעט מדי, מאוחר מדי (m'át midái, m'ukhár midái)Translations
Italian troppo poco, troppo tardi
  • troppo poco, troppo tardiTranslations
Polish rychło w czas, poniewczasie
  • rychło w czasTranslations
  • poniewczasieTranslations
Portuguese muito pouco, muito tarde
  • muito pouco, muito tardeTranslations
Spanish demasiado poco y demasiado tarde, "tarde, mal y nunca"
  • demasiado poco y demasiado tardeTranslations
  • "tarde, mal y nunca"Translations
Cite this entry
APA

too little, too late. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/too%20little%2C%20too%20late

MLA

“too little, too late.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/too%20little%2C%20too%20late. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “too little, too late,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/too%20little%2C%20too%20late.

Source: too little, too late on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.