- a person''s dying act

- the last thing a person can do
"he breathed his last"

- holding device shaped like a human foot that is used to fashion or repair shoes

- the concluding parts of an event or occurrence
"the end was exciting"
"I had to miss the last of the movie"

- a unit of capacity for grain equal to 80 bushels

- a unit of weight equal to 4,000 pounds

- the last or lowest in an ordering or series
"he was the last to leave"
"he finished an inglorious last"

- the time at which life ends

- continuing until dead
"she stayed until his death"
"a struggle to the last"

- the temporal end

- the concluding time
"the stopping point of each round was signaled by a bell"
"the market was up at the finish"
"they were playing better at the close of the season"

- continue to live

- endure or last
"We went without water and food for 3 days"
"These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America"
"The racecar driver lived through several very serious accidents"

- persist or be long

- in time
"The bad weather lasted for three days"

- occurring at the time of death
"his last words"
"the last rites"

- lowest in rank or importance
"last prize"
"in last place"

- not to be altered or undone
"the judge''s decision is final"
"the arbiter will have the last say"

- in accord with the most fashionable ideas or style
"wears only the latest style"
"the last thing in swimwear"
"knows the newest dances"
"cutting-edge technology"
"a with-it boutique"

- 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"

- 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

- 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"

- most unlikely or unsuitable
"the last person we would have suspected"
"the last man they would have chosen for the job"

- conclusive in a process or progression
"the final answer"
"a last resort"
"the net result"

- more recently than any other time
"I saw him last in London"

- the item at the end
"last, I''ll discuss family values"

1. of Last, to endure, contracted from lasteth. [Obs.] Chaucer.

1. Being after all the others, similarly classed or considered, in time, place, or order of succession; following all the rest; final; hindmost; farthest; as, the last year of a century; the last man in a line of soldiers; the last page in a book; his last chance.

"Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God." -- Neh. viii. 18.

"Fairest of stars, last in the train of night." -- Milton.

2. Next before the present; as, I saw him last week.

3. Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.

"Contending for principles of the last importance." -- R. Hall.

4. Lowest in rank or degree; as, the last prize. Pope.

5. Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely; having least fitness; as, he is the last person to be accused of theft.

At last
at the end of a certain period; after delay. "The duke of Savoy felt that the time had at last arrived." Motley.

At the last
[Prob. fr. AS. on lāste behind, following behind, fr. lāst race, track, footstep. See Last mold of the foot.] At the end; in the conclusion. [Obs.] "Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last." Gen. xlix. 19.

Last heir
the person to whom lands escheat for want of an heir. [Eng.] Abbott.

On one's last legs
at, or near, the end of one's resources; hence, on the verge of failure or ruin, especially in a financial sense. [Colloq.]

To breathe one's last
to die.

To the last
to the end; till the conclusion.

"And blunder on in business to the last." -- Pope.

Syn. -- At Last, At Length. These phrases both denote that some delayed end or result has been reached. At length implies that a long period was spent in so doing; as, after a voyage of more than three months, we at Length arrived safe. At last commonly implies that something has occurred (as interruptions, disappointments, etc.) which leads us to emphasize the idea of having reached the end; as, in spite of every obstacle, we have at last arrived.

1. At a time or on an occasion which is the latest of all those spoken of or which have occurred; the last time; as, I saw him last in New York.

2. In conclusion; finally.

"Pleased with his idol, he commends, admires, Adores; and, last, the thing adored desires." -- Dryden.

3. At a time next preceding the present time.

"How long is't now since last yourself and I Were in a mask ?" -- Shak.

1. To continue in time; to endure; to remain in existence.

"[I] proffered me to be slave in all that she me would ordain while my life lasted." -- Testament of Love.

2. To endure use, or continue in existence, without impairment or exhaustion; as, this cloth lasts better than that; the fuel will last through the winter.

1. A wooden block shaped like the human foot, on which boots and shoes are formed.

"The cobbler is not to go beyond his last." -- L'Estrange.

Darning last
a smooth, hard body, often egg-shaped, put into a stocking to preserve its shape in darning.

1. To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last; as, to last a boot.

1. A load; a heavy burden; hence, a certain weight or measure, generally estimated at 4,000 lbs., but varying for different articles and in different countries. In England, a last of codfish, white herrings, meal, or ashes, is twelve barrels; a last of corn, ten quarters, or eighty bushels, in some parts of England, twenty-one quarters; of gunpowder, twenty-four barrels, each containing 100 lbs; of red herrings, twenty cades, or 20,000; of hides, twelve dozen; of leather, twenty dickers; of pitch and tar, fourteen barrels; of wool, twelve sacks; of flax or feathers, 1,700 lbs.

2. The burden of a ship; a cargo.