What does “after” mean?
- 1
prepositionlater than something; following in time or order
Let’s go for a walk after lunch.
- 2
conjunctionat a time later than when something happens
I called her after I got home.
- 3
prepositionbehind someone, trying to catch them
The dog ran after the cat.
After at a glance
- Part of speech
- preposition & conjunction
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈæftər/ · AF-ter
How to use “after” correctly
Don’t use “will” after “after” when talking about the future: “I’ll call you after I arrive”, not “after I will arrive”.
Common phrases with “after”
- after all
- the day after tomorrow
- look after
- after a while
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
Word family
- afterward
- afternoon
“after” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- before prepositionA1earlier than
- again adverbA1one more time; another time
- age nounA1the number of years someone has lived or something has existed
- ago adverbA1before now; used to say how far back in the past something happened
- always adverbA1at all times or every time
- begin verbA1to start doing something or to start happening
- dark adjectiveA1with little or no light
- day nounA1a period of 24 hours