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

May’s start was encouraging, as was Boston’s ability to scrape out three runs late in the game after being shut down by one of the best starters in baseball, Trevor Rogers, who leads the league with a 1.41 ERA and 0.80 WHIP. —Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025

In addition, the company raised much investment early in the game, having been founded in 2015. —Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2025

Firefighters catcher Dalton Cornett went up to bat early in the game Friday night wearing his father’s White Sox jersey. —Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025

The long, lanky edge-setter forced a pressure early in the game to get Texans QB Davis Mills to throw an off-the-mark target down the field. —Charlotte Observer, 16 Aug. 2025