Better late than never.
Better late than never.
Meaning in plain English
Completing a worthwhile action after a delay is often better than abandoning it altogether. Missing the ideal moment does not always remove the value of doing it now.
Example
A former colleague sends a sincere thank-you months after receiving help instead of deciding that the delay makes gratitude pointless.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The saying compares a delayed benefit with no benefit at all. It can encourage someone to apologise, finish a task or begin learning after they feel they have missed their chance. It does not say that lateness is harmless or that deadlines can be ignored. Some opportunities genuinely expire, and others lose value as time passes. Where a useful action remains possible, however, embarrassment about the delay should not become a reason for further inaction. The proverb invites recovery rather than an excuse for repeated delay.
When to use it
Use it to encourage a still-useful action despite a missed ideal time.
Keep in mind
A late action may not repair every consequence, and firm deadlines sometimes make lateness decisive.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-03. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- Familiar Quotations, ninth edition (1905 printing)
Proverbes. Part i. Chap. x.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- attributed · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- c. 1565 AD · renaissance
anthology circa date; not composition date. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗
The voice behind the words.
Listed in the author section of Bartlett’s ninth-edition anthology, in the linked 1905 printing. Dates reflect that historical edition and may differ from modern scholarship.
More from John Heywood ↗