Punctuality is the characteristic of completing a required task or fulfilling an obligation before or at a previously designated time.
Each culture tends to have its own understanding about what is considered an acceptable degree of punctuality.
[2] Typically, a small amount of lateness is acceptable—this is commonly about five to ten minutes in most Western cultures—but this is context-dependent, for example it might not the case for doctor's appointments.
[4] In this case, since everyone understands that a 9 p.m. party will actually start at around 10 p.m., no-one is inconvenienced when everyone arrives at 10 p.m.[5] In cultures that value punctuality, being late is seen as disrespectful of others' time and may be considered insulting.
In such cases, punctuality may be enforced by social penalties, for example by excluding low-status latecomers from meetings entirely.