early/late in the game

idiom

: at an early/late time in a game or sport

She scored a goal early in the game.

—often used figuratively

It's too late in the game to change the date of the meeting.

She got into the computer industry early in the game.

Examples of early/late in the game in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Theodore fired a shot from the point early in the game that was blocked by Boldy, who then raced down the ice for a breakaway goal to open the scoring. —Michael Russo, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025

Joel’s end similarly arrives early in the game, just under two hours into what ends up being about 25 hours of play. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025

The Hawks shook off a poor shooting performance early in the game and rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter, sparked by some clutch shooting from guard Trae Young. —Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 19 Apr. 2025

The Padres lost one of the catalysts to their offense before their game against the Athletics, lost a three-run lead early in the game, had two other crucial players depart midgame and then lost the game. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025