after the expected or usual time; delayed; "a belated birthday card"; "I'm late for the plane"; "the train is late"; "tardy children are sent to the principal"; "always tardy in making dental appointments"
in or to or toward the rear; "he followed behind"; "seen from behind, the house is more imposing than it is from the front"; "the final runners were far behind"
remaining in a place or condition that has been left or departed from; "when he died he left much unfinished work behind"; "left a large family behind"; "the children left their books behind"; "he took off with a squeal of tires and left the other cars far behind"
in debt; "he fell behind with his mortgage payments"; "a month behind in the rent"; "a company that has been run behindhand for years"; "in arrears with their utility bills"
in or into an inferior position; "fell behind in his studies"; "their business was lagging behind in the competition for customers"
of timepieces; "the clock is almost an hour slow"; "my watch is running behind"
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time; "early morning"; "an early warning"; "early diagnosis"; "an early death"; "took early retirement"; "an early spring"; "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties"
being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
of an early stage in the development of a language or literature; "the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C."; "Early Modern English is represented in documents printed from 1476 to 1700"
very young; "at an early age"
expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations"
before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"