too little, too late

idiom

: not enough and not soon enough to make a difference
Her efforts to improve her grade were too little, too late.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web However, its 18-point halftime deficit proved to be too large of a gap to close and its second half improvements were too little, too late. Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 10 Mar. 2023 For some, Thursday's apology was too little, too late. Aina J. Khan, NBC News, 17 Feb. 2023 This may be too little, too late. Ariel Cohen, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2023 However, by this point in the BeltLine’s existence, displacement prevention efforts may be too little, too late. Dan Immergluck, The Conversation, 25 Jan. 2023 Still, To Leslie made barely a peep when it was released in October and had been ignored by all the major precursors, leading most pundits to believe the Twitter blitz would be too little, too late. Vulture, 24 Jan. 2023 But this may be too little, too late. David A. Andelman, CNN, 23 Jan. 2023 Upon learning that he’s washed her soccer jersey and bought her blueberries, the remarkably mature Alice explains to Jimmy that these gestures amount to too little, too late. Time, 23 Jan. 2023 But the run was too little, too late; the Cardinals lost 67-66. Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 10 Dec. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'too little, too late.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near too little, too late

Cite this Entry

“Too little, too late.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/too%20little%2C%20too%20late. Accessed 28 May. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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