The words later and latter look alike, but their meanings aren't the same.

Definitions

Later means after a particular time or any time after the present.

Latter refers to the second of two persons or things already mentioned.

Also see: Commonly Confused Words: Last and Latter.

Examples

• Though Amy said that she would join me later, I never saw her again.
• "There are two kinds of worries: those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on the latter."
  (Duke Ellington)

Practice

(a) "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the ______."
(Thomas Jefferson)

(b) "A little _____ that afternoon, when George had done his chores and finished his homework, he decided to go back next door."
(Stephen Hawking and Lucy Hawking, George and the Big Bang. Simon & Schuster, 2012)

Answers to Practice Exercises

Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words