Last can be an adjective or an adverb.
The last thing, event, or person of a particular kind is the one that comes after all the others.
If you want to emphasize that someone or something is the last one of their kind, you can put very in front of last.
Latest is sometimes used in a similar way.
If something last happened on a particular occasion, it has not happened since then.
If an event is the final one in a series of similar events, you can say that it happens last. You put last at the end of a clause.
You can also use lastly to say that an event is the final one in a series. You put lastly at the beginning of a clause.
However, last and lastly are not always used in the same way. You usually use last to say that an event is the final one in a series of similar events. You use lastly when you are talking about events which are not similar.
For example, if you say 'George phoned his aunt last', you usually mean that George had phoned several people and that his aunt was the last person he phoned. If you say 'Lastly George phoned his aunt', you mean that George had done several things and that the last thing he did was to phoned his aunt.
Lastly has a much more common use. You use it to introduce a final point in a discussion, ask a final question, give a final instruction, or mention a final item in a list.
At last and at long last are used to show that something that you have been waiting for or expecting for a long time has happened. These expressions usually go at the beginning or end of a clause.
You use last in front of a word such as week or month to say when something happened. For example, if it is August and something happened in July, you say that it happened last month.
Be Careful!
Don't say that something happened 'the last month' or 'the last week'.
Last can be used in a similar way in front of the names of festivals, seasons, months, or days of the week.
Don't, however, say 'last morning' or 'last afternoon'. Say yesterday morning or yesterday afternoon.
Be Careful!
Don't say 'last evening'. Say yesterday evening or last night.
When you are describing something that happened in the past and you want to refer to an earlier period of time, you use previous or before instead of 'last'. For example, if you are talking about events that happened in 2005 and you want to mention something that happened in 2004, you say that it happened the previous year or the year before.
You use before last to refer to the period of time immediately before the most recent one of its kind. For example, the year before last means 'the year before last year'.
You can also use last to refer to any period of time measured back from the present. For example, if it is July 23rd and you want to refer to the period from July 2nd to the present, you refer to it as the last three weeks. Note that you must use the. If you want to say that something happened during this period, you say that it happened in the last three weeks or during the last three weeks.
Be Careful!
Note the order of words in these examples. Don't say 'the eight last days' or 'the few last years'.
Be Careful!
Don't use 'in the last' or 'during the last' on their own with a plural noun such as 'years' or 'days'. For example, don't say 'Many changes have been made in the last years'. Use a quantity word or a number. For example, say 'Many changes have been made in the last few years'. Or use recent instead. For example, you can say 'Many changes have been made in recent years'.
You use latest or last to talk about one of a series of events which is continuing to happen, or one of a series of things which someone is continuing to have or produce.
If one of a series of events is happening now or has just happened, you refer to it as the latest one.
You refer to the event before the latest one as the last one. If no event of the kind you are talking about has happened recently, you refer to the most recent one as the last one.
If someone keeps having or producing a series of things, you refer to the one they have now or the one they have produced most recently as their latest one.
You refer to the one before their latest one as their last one. If they have not had or produced one recently, you refer to their most recent one as their last one.
You can talk about more than one thing in this way by putting last in front of a number. For example, you can talk about 'his last three books'.
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Noun | 1. | ![]() |
2. | last - the last or lowest in an ordering or series; "he was the last to leave"; "he finished an inglorious last" rank - relative status; "his salary was determined by his rank and seniority" | |
3. | last - a person's dying act; the final thing a person can do; "he breathed his last" activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" | |
4. | last - the time at which life ends; continuing until dead; "she stayed until his death"; "a struggle to the last" | |
5. | last - a unit of weight equal to 4,000 pounds weight unit, weight - a unit used to measure weight; "he placed two weights in the scale pan" | |
6. | last - a unit of capacity for grain equal to 80 bushels Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom 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 | |
7. | last - the concluding parts of an event or occurrence; "the end was exciting"; "I had to miss the last of the movie" conclusion, ending, finish - event whose occurrence ends something; "his death marked the ending of an era"; "when these final episodes are broadcast it will be the finish of the show" 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; "the diplomatic endgame" homestretch - the end of an enterprise; "they were on the homestretch when the computer crashed" passing - the end of something; "the passing of winter" | |
8. | last - holding device shaped like a human foot that is used to fashion or repair shoes holding device - a device for holding something | |
Verb | 1. | last - persist for a specified period of time; "The bad weather lasted for three days" measure - have certain dimensions; "This table surfaces measures 20inches by 36 inches" |
2. | last - continue to live through hardship or adversity; "We went without water and food for 3 days"; "These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America"; "The race car driver lived through several very serious accidents"; "how long can a person last without food and water?" live, be - have life, be alive; "Our great leader is no more"; "My grandfather lived until the end of war" subsist, exist, survive, live - support oneself; "he could barely exist on such a low wage"; "Can you live on $2000 a month in New York City?"; "Many people in the world have to subsist on $1 a day" hold water, stand up, hold up - resist or withstand wear, criticism, etc.; "Her shoes won't hold up"; "This theory won't hold water" perennate - survive from season to season, of plants live out - live out one's life; live to the end | |
Adj. | 1. | last - immediately past; "last Thursday"; "the last chapter we read" past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year" |
2. | last - 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" first - preceding all others in time or space or degree; "the first house on the right"; "the first day of spring"; "his first political race"; "her first baby"; "the first time"; "the first meetings of the new party"; "the first phase of his training" | |
3. | last - occurring at or forming an end or termination; "his concluding words came as a surprise"; "the final chapter"; "the last days of the dinosaurs"; "terminal leave" closing - final or ending; "the closing stages of the election"; "the closing weeks of the year"; "the closing scene of the film"; "closing remarks" | |
4. | last - most unlikely or unsuitable; "the last person we would have suspected"; "the last man they would have chosen for the job" unlikely - has little chance of being the case or coming about; "an unlikely story"; "an unlikely candidate for reelection"; "a butcher is unlikely to preach vegetarianism" | |
5. | last - occurring at the time of death; "his last words"; "the last rites" dying - in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be; "a dying man"; "his dying wish"; "a dying fire"; "a dying civilization" | |
6. | last - conclusive in a process or progression; "the final answer"; "a last resort"; "the net result" ultimate - furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme; "the ultimate achievement"; "the ultimate question"; "man's ultimate destiny"; "the ultimate insult"; "one's ultimate goal in life" | |
7. | last - 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" high - greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount; "a high temperature"; "a high price"; "the high point of his career"; "high risks"; "has high hopes"; "the river is high"; "he has a high opinion of himself" | |
8. | last - not to be altered or undone; "the judge's decision is final"; "the arbiter will have the last say" inalterable, unalterable - not capable of being changed or altered; "unalterable resolve"; "an unalterable ground rule" | |
9. | last - lowest in rank or importance; "last prize"; "in last place" worst - (superlative of `bad') most wanting in quality or value or condition; "the worst player on the team"; "the worst weather of the year" | |
Adv. | 1. | last - most_recently; "I saw him last in London" |
2. | last - the item at the end; "last, I'll discuss family values" |