latter
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.the second of two people or things that have just been mentioned.
adj.denoting the second of two items or people previously mentioned; often used with 'the' as a substantive noun.
Simple“The city has a great park and a famous museum; I visited the latter yesterday.”
In context“The report discussed both economic growth and environmental protection, though it focused more heavily on the latter.”
UsageAlways used with 'the' when referring to the second of two items.
PitfallOf the two options, I prefer the later. Of the two options, I prefer the latter.Use 'latter' for the second of two things; 'later' refers only to time.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.near the end of a period of time or a process.
adj.belonging to or occurring near the end of a specified period, process, or era.
Simple“The team played much better in the latter half of the game.”
In context“In the latter stages of the nineteenth century, industrialisation transformed the rural landscape beyond recognition.”
UsageOften used in phrases like 'the latter half' or 'the latter stages'.
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.the second person or thing of two that you just talked about.
n.the second of two mentioned things or people, functioning as a pronoun-like noun.
Simple“You can pay by cash or credit card, but the latter is much easier.”
In context“The candidate was offered a choice between a higher salary and more vacation days; she chose the latter without hesitation.”
UsageFunctions as a noun phrase, almost always preceded by 'the'.
Teacher's tipThis is very common in academic writing to avoid repeating a long noun phrase.
Synonymssecond oneAntonyms
Usage appreciation latter · concurrent latter · latter author
“Wood joined Stewart on stage at Glastonbury last year when the latter helmed the festival’s Sunday afternoon legends slot .”
“It is the latter two that count as 'applied research'; these are the buckets the government thinks will drive economic growth.”
From Old English lætra, comparative form of læt (“late”). Doublet of later; also, cognate with last, whose doublet is latest.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.