the latter

noun

1

: the second one of two things or people that have been mentioned

Of these two options, the former is less expensive, while the latter is less risky.

2

: the last thing or person mentioned

Of chicken, fish, and meat, I like the latter best.

3

: the thing or person that has just been mentioned

The President—or, if the latter is too busy, the Vice President—will see you shortly.

Examples of the latter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On Wednesday Australia’s prime minister revealed that one of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence agents hacked into a health care platform maintained by the nation’s government—and that OpenAI took months to inform the latter about the breach. — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 24 Sep. 2026

But in a league where elite defensive lines are either loaded with superstars or built more on a group that works well together, the Falcons’ defensive coordinator feels his unit aligns with the latter. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 24 Sep. 2026

But growing cells of the latter region has remained a major challenge, greatly slowing down our efforts to study various diseases. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 24 Sep. 2026

The film recently screened at the Telluride, Toronto and Venice film festivals, the latter of which awarded Malkovich with the Best Actor award. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for the latter

• backscatter
• antimatter
• atter
• batter
• blatter
• catarrh
• chatter
• clatter
• fatter
• flatter
• hatter
• matter