:at an early/late time in a game or sport比赛刚开始/接近尾声时
She scored a goal early in the game. [=near the beginning of the game]她在比赛一开始就进了一球。
— often used figuratively常用作比喻
It's too late in the game to change the date of the meeting. [=it's no longer reasonable to change the date; the meeting is too soon for the date to be changed]更改会议时间已经来不及了。
She got into the computer industry early in the game. [=when the industry was new]计算机产业刚兴起时，她就入行了。