early/late in the game

idiom

: at an early/late time in a game or sport

She scored a goal early in the game.

—often used figuratively

It's too late in the game to change the date of the meeting.

She got into the computer industry early in the game.

Examples of early/late in the game in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

There was a scary moment early in the game after Pastrnak’s shot went off the crossbar, but Woll stopped it from rolling over the goal line. —

Omar White, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025 Modeling is difficult this early in the game, and projections for all films could shift. —

Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Dec. 2024 Abrams-Draine got called for defensive pass interference on a very similar play — and on what looked like a ticky-tack penalty — in Week 13 against Cleveland late in the game. —

Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 16 Dec. 2024 Baltimore was up 9-0 early in the game behind a 14-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Mark Andrews. —

Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 2 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for early/late in the game

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“Early/late in the game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/early%2Flate%20in%20the%20game. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

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