last

/læst/

/lɑst/

Other forms: lasted; lasting; lasts

Something that's last comes at the very end, after any others of its kind. The last day of the year is December 31st.

If you eat the last slice of pizza, you take the final one — it's the only one left in the take-out box. And if you catch the last plane to Bermuda, there are no more flights today. The runner who comes in last is behind everyone else, and a poet's last words are the final ones she speaks during her lifetime, before she dies. As a verb, last means "remain" or "survive."

Definitions of last

1. adjective

   coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining
   “the last time I saw Paris”

   “the last day of the month”

   “had the last word”

   “waited until the last minute”

   “he raised his voice in a last supreme call”

   “the last game of the season”

   “down to his last nickel”

   synonyms:

   fourth-year, senior

   used of the fourth and final year in United States high school or college

   sunset

   providing for termination

   ultimate

   being the last or concluding element of a series

   antonyms:

   first

   preceding all others in time or space or degree

   front

   relating to or located in the front

   early

   at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

   archetypal, archetypical, prototypal, prototypic, prototypical

   representing or constituting an original type after which other similar things are patterned

   basic, introductory

   serving as a base or starting point

   initial

   occurring at the beginning

   eldest, firstborn

   first in order of birth

   first-year, freshman

   used of a person in the first year of an experience (especially in United States high school or college)

   original

   preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed

   premier, premiere

   preceding all others in time

   premier, prime

   first in rank or degree

   prime

   used of the first or originating agent

   original

   being or productive of something fresh and unusual; or being as first made or thought of

   primary

   of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary
2. adjective

   occurring at or forming an end or termination
   “the last days of the dinosaurs”

   synonyms: concluding, final, terminal

   closing

   final or ending
3. adjective

   occurring at the time of death
   “his last words”

   “the last rites”

   synonyms:

   dying

   in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
4. adjective

   lowest in rank or importance
   “last prize”

   “in last place”

   synonyms: last-place, lowest

   worst

   (superlative of `bad') most wanting in quality or value or condition
5. adjective

   conclusive in a process or progression
   “a last resort”

   synonyms: final, net

   ultimate

   furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme
6. adjective

   not to be altered or undone
   “the arbiter will have the last say”

   synonyms: final

   inalterable, unalterable

   not capable of being changed or altered
7. adverb

   the item at the end
   “last, I'll discuss family values”

   synonyms: finally, in conclusion, lastly
8. noun

   the temporal end; the concluding time
   synonyms: close, conclusion, finale, finis, finish, stopping point

   type of:

   end, ending

   the point in time at which something ends
9. noun

   the concluding parts of an event or occurrence
   “I had to miss the last of the movie”

   synonyms: end, final stage

   types:

   end game, endgame

   the final stages of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from the board

   end game, endgame

   the final stages of an extended process of negotiation

   homestretch

   the end of an enterprise

   passing

   the end of something

   type of:

   conclusion, ending, finish

   event whose occurrence ends something
10. noun

    a person's dying act; the final thing a person can do
    “he breathed his last”

    type of:

    activity

    any specific behavior
11. noun

    the time at which life ends; continuing until dead
    “a struggle to the last”

    synonyms: death

    type of:

    end, ending

    the point in time at which something ends
12. noun

    the last or lowest in an ordering or series
    “he was the last to leave”

    “he finished an inglorious last”

    type of:

    rank

    relative status
13. verb

    persist for a specified period of time
    “The bad weather lasted for three days”

    synonyms: endure

    types:

    run, run for

    extend or continue for a certain period of time

    endure, hold out, wear

    last and be usable

    drag on, drag out

    last unnecessarily long

    type of:

    measure

    have certain dimensions
14. verb

    continue to live through hardship or adversity
    “how long can a person last without food and water?”

    synonyms: endure, go, hold out, hold up, live, live on, survive

    be, live

    have life, be alive

    exist, live, subsist, survive

    support oneself

    types:

    hold up, hold water, stand up

    resist or withstand wear, criticism, etc.

    perennate

    survive from season to season, of plants

    live out

    live out one's life; live to the end
15. adjective

    immediately past
    “last Thursday”

    “the last chapter we read”

    synonyms:

    past

    earlier than the present time; no longer current
16. adverb

    most recently
    “I saw him last in London”
17. adjective

    highest in extent or degree
    “to the last measure of human endurance”

    “whether they were accomplices in the last degree or a lesser one was...to be determined individually”

    synonyms: utmost

    high

    greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
18. adjective

    most unlikely or unsuitable
    “the last person we would have suspected”

    “the last man they would have chosen for the job”

    synonyms:

    unlikely

    has little chance of being the case or coming about
19. noun

    holding device shaped like a human foot that is used to fashion or repair shoes
    synonyms: cobbler's last, shoemaker's last

    type of:

    holding device

    a device for holding something
20. noun

    a unit of weight equal to 4,000 pounds
    type of:

    weight, weight unit

    a unit used to measure weight
21. noun

    a unit of capacity for grain equal to 80 bushels
    type of:

    capacity measure, capacity unit, cubage unit, cubature unit, cubic content unit, cubic measure, displacement unit, volume unit

    a unit of measurement of volume or capacity