last 1
(lăst)adj.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.
7. a. 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.
11. a. 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.
adv.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.
n.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.
last′ly adv.
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: Somehow he always seems to get the final word in what we end up doing. Terminal applies to what marks or forms a limit or boundary, as in space, time, or development: That railroad's terminal city is a town with a large harbor. Ultimate applies to what concludes a series, process, or progression or constitutes a final result or objective: the ultimate sonata of that opus; our ultimate goal; the ultimate effect.
last 2
(lăst)v. last·ed, last·ing, lasts
v.intr.1. a. To continue in time; go on: The war lasted four years.
b. To continue; survive: The patient is not expected to last much longer.
2. a. To remain in good or usable condition: Produce lasts longer if it is refrigerated. I wanted a car that would last.
b. To continue in force or practice: wondered if the marriage would last.
3. To remain in adequate supply: Will our water last?
v.tr.1. To keep adequately supplied: left enough bread to last the family for the weekend.
2. To persist or endure for the entire length of; survive: hoped to last the season without injuring her leg again.
last 3
(lăst)n. A block or form shaped like a human foot and used in making or repairing shoes.
tr.v. last·ed,
last·ing,
lasts To mold or shape on a last.
[Middle English
leste, laste, from Old English
lǣste, from
lǣst, lāst,
sole of the foot; see
leis- in
Indo-European roots.]
last 4
(lăst)n. Chiefly British A unit of volume or weight varying for different commodities and in different districts, equal to about 80 bushels, 640 gallons, or 2 tons.
[Middle English, load, a kind of measure, from Old English hlæst, load.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
last
lastlyLast can be an adjective or an adverb.
1. 'last' used as an adjectiveThe last thing, event, or person of a particular kind is the one that comes after all the others.
He missed the last bus.
They met for the last time just before the war.
He was the last person to see Rebecca alive.
If you want to emphasize that someone or something is the last one of their kind, you can put very in front of last.
Those were his very last words.
I changed my mind at the very last minute.
Latest is sometimes used in a similar way.
2. 'last' used as an adverbIf something last happened on a particular occasion, it has not happened since then.
They last saw their homeland nine years ago.
It's a long time since we met last.
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.
He added the milk last.
Mr Ross was meant to have gone first, but in fact went last.
3. 'lastly'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.
They wash their hands, arms and faces, and lastly, they wash their feet.
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.
Lastly, I would like to thank Mr. Mark Collins for his advice, assistance and patience.
Lastly I would like to ask about your future plans.
4. 'at last'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.
The journey had taken a long time, but they had arrived at last.
At long last I've found a woman who really loves me.
5. 'last' with time expressionsYou 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.
Wolfgang and I had lunch with her last month.
The group held its first meeting last week.
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.
Last Christmas we received more than a hundred cards.
She died last summer.
I bought these shoes last Saturday.
Don't, however, say 'last morning' or 'last afternoon'. Say yesterday morning or yesterday afternoon.
It's warmer this morning than it was yesterday morning.
Yesterday afternoon I had lunch with Cameron.
Be Careful!
Don't say 'last evening'. Say yesterday evening or last night.
Yesterday evening another British soldier was killed.
I've been thinking about what we said last night.
6. 'previous' and 'before'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.
We had had an argument the previous night.
He had done some work on the farmhouse the previous summer.
The two women had met in Bonn the weekend before.
The quarrel of the night before seemed forgotten.
7. 'before last'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'.
We went camping the summer before last.
I have not slept since the night before last.
8. 'the last'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.
He had asked himself that question at least a thousand times in the last eight days.
All this has happened during the last few years.
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'.
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