1. Being, coming, or placed after all others; final: the last game of the season.2. Being the only one left: his last nickel; as a last resort.3. Just past; most recent: last year; the last time I checked.4. Most up-to-date; newest: the last thing in swimwear.5. Highest in extent or degree; utmost: to the last measure of human endurance.6. Most valid, authoritative, or conclusive: The arbiter will have the last say in resolving this dispute.7a. Least likely or expected: the last person we would have suspected.b. The least desirable or suitable: the last man for the job.8. Being the latest possible: waited until the last second before boarding the train.9. Lowest in rank or importance: last prize; last place.10. Used as an intensive: Every last dollar was donated to charity.11a. Of or relating to a terminal period or stage, as of life: the last days of the dinosaurs.b. Administered just before death: the last sacraments.
ADVERB:
1. After all others in chronology or sequence: arrived last.2. Most recently: a fashion last popular in the 1940s.3. At the end; finally: Add the butter last.
NOUN:
1. One that is at the end or last: the last to be chosen; on every page but the last.2. The end: held out until the last.3. The final mention or appearance: haven't seen the last of our troubles.
IDIOMS:
at last After a considerable length of time; finally. at long last After a lengthy or troublesome wait or delay: At long last the winter was over.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English latost, superlative of læt, late. See l- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:
lastly —ADVERB
SYNONYMS:
last1, final, terminal, ultimate These adjectives mean coming after all others in chronology or sequence. Last applies to what comes at the end of a series: the last day of the month. Something final stresses the definitiveness and decisiveness of the conclusion: “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality” (Martin Luther King, Jr.). Terminal applies to what marks or forms a limit or boundary, as in space, time, or development: The railroad chose as its terminal city a town with a large harbor.Ultimate applies to what concludes a series, process, or progression, to what constitutes a final result or objective, and to what is most distant or remote, as in time: the ultimate sonata of that opus; our ultimate goal; the ultimate effect.
l
st
- in Appendix I.
ly —ADVERB
