phrasal verb · neutral

run late

/rʌn leɪt/run LATE

speakingtask1

to be or become delayed and arrive later than planned

Examples

I'm running late for my exam because of the traffic.

The train ran late and many passengers missed their connections.

Sorry I'm late—I've been running late all morning.

Band 8 sentence

I informed the examiner via email that I was running late due to unexpected road closures and asked for a short delay.

Collocations

  • run late for (an appointment)
  • running late this morning
  • run a little late

Word family

run verbrunning verb/adjlate adj

Common mistakes

I'm late my exam.I'm late for my exam.

The train was running lated.The train was running late.

Say it for a higher band

5be late6arrive late7+run late

Synonyms

be late

be delayed

Easily confused

be late

I'm going to be late for work because my bus was cancelled.

Related words

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