student asking question

What does "tardy" mean? Are there any synonyms for "tardy"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

As a noun, a "tardy" is a mark you get on an attendance sheet in school when you are late to class. The number of "tardies" you have goes on your permanent records as a student and affects your attendance record. Ex: I woke up late and got a tardy. As an adjective, "tardy" means to be late or delayed. This word is generally only used when describing someone who is late to class or in the workplace. Aside from those situations, the word "tardy" is very formal and not usually interchanged with "late". Ex: Don't show up tardy to work.

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