How to use "later hours of the day"

What Does "later hours of the day" Mean?

• The expression "later hours of the day" refers to the period encompassing the late afternoon, evening, and night. It implies a time that is past the midpoint of the day and approaching its end.
• The meaning is compositional; each word contributes its literal meaning to the overall sense. "Later" indicates a time that follows an earlier one, "hours" refers to specific units of time, "of" is a preposition connecting the time to the larger concept of the "day."
• The register is neutral, suitable for both formal and informal contexts, though it leans slightly towards the formal side compared to alternatives like "late at night."

How to Use It

• The grammatical pattern is adjective + noun, where "later" is an adjective modifying the noun phrase "hours of the day."
• It is often used with prepositions like "in" or "during," as in "in the later hours of the day" or "during the later hours of the day." It can also be used as an adverbial phrase modifying a verb, as in "activity increases in the later hours of the day."
• The components cannot be separated. You can't insert words between 'later' and 'hours' without making the phrase grammatically incorrect or semantically nonsensical.
• Using the wrong preposition (e.g., "at the later hours of the day") sounds unnatural. Replacing "hours" with a synonym that doesn't fit the context (e.g., "later moments of the day" when referring to a longer period) can also sound awkward.

Real-World Examples

These examples are sourced from later hours of the day on Ludwig.guru.

"Jeremiah, I don't think the author is suggesting that TRF in the later hours of the day is bad, but rather that it is DIFFICULT." — Harvard University

"Older victims were more likely to be sexually abused by someone outside their families and in the later hours of the day compared to younger victims." — Crime Science

"I picked this one because: a. it's in color and, b. it holds many aspects of photography that I like, the parallelism of the hand gesture of the mannequin and the girl on the left, the surrealism of the whole scene, the dark and long shadows of photographing at the later hours of the day that brings beautiful light." — Huffington Post

"For example, the best time of day for performance of an evening type is shifted towards the later hours of the day in comparison to a morning type." — British Journal of Psychiatry

"There is an important clinical need for long-acting stimulant medications with efficacy beyond 12 hours' duration among children with ADHD who require symptom control that extends into the later hours of the day [ 9]." — Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

Examples sourced from https://ludwig.guru/s/later+hours+of+the+day

Similar Phrases and Alternatives

Phrase	Context
late at night	More informal, specifically refers to nighttime.
in the evening	Refers to the period between afternoon and night; more specific.
during the night	Focuses solely on the nighttime period.
at the end of the day	Can refer to the literal end of the day or figuratively to the conclusion of a process.
after dark	Refers to the time after sunset; emphasizes the darkness.
twilight hours	Refers to the period of fading light after sunset, often evokes a sense of beauty or mystery.

Common Mistakes

• A common mistake is using the incorrect preposition, such as saying "at the later hours of the day" instead of "in the later hours of the day" or "during the later hours of the day."
• Using a less formal register in a formal context, such as substituting "late times" for "later hours of the day", can be inappropriate.
• Attempting to separate the components of the phrase, such as inserting an adjective between "later" and "hours", disrupts the established collocation and sounds unnatural.

Quick-Reference Summary

Expression	Meaning	Grammatical Pattern	Register
later hours of the day	The period from late afternoon through the night.	Adjective + Noun	Neutral

FAQs

Can the words in "later hours of the day" be separated, or must they stay together?

The words in "later hours of the day" should not be separated. It is a fixed collocation, and inserting words between "later" and "hours" would disrupt the phrase and make it sound unnatural. The phrase functions as a single unit to describe a specific period of time.

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How does "later hours of the day" differ from "late at night?"

While both phrases refer to the end of the day, "later hours of the day" is more general and can include the late afternoon and evening, while "late at night" specifically refers to the nighttime period. Therefore, "later hours of the day" covers a broader timeframe than "late at night."

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What is a common mistake when using "later hours of the day," and how can I avoid it?

A common mistake is using the wrong preposition, like saying "at the later hours of the day." The correct prepositions are "in" or "during", so it should be "in the later hours of the day" or "during the later hours of the day". Paying attention to preposition usage will help avoid this error.