To save this word, you'll need to log in.
Definition of last minute
: the moment just before some climactic, decisive, or disastrous event
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from last minute
last-minute \ ˈlas(t)-ˈmi-nət 
\ adjective
\ adjectiveExamples of last minute in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Part of this year’s poll worker recruitment problem involves workers cancelling at the last minute over health concerns.
—
Rachel Glickhouse, ProPublica, "Electionland 2020: Kentucky and New York Vote, Trump on Mail Voting, COVID Impacts and more," 26 June 2020 Darius Kipyego, a native of Rhode Island and a member of the 2019 USA U-20 Pan American Championship team booked a last minute flight to Phoenix on Thursday.
—
Jack Williams, azcentral, "Desert Dream-Last Hurrah provides hope, possible solution for return to sports," 15 June 2020 Amid protests over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd, Spectrum has made the last minute decision to push the premiere of L.A.'s Finest.
—
Derek Lawrence, EW.com, "L.A.'s Finest premiere pushed at last minute amid protests over police brutality," 8 June 2020 His granddaughter followed, a wreath of white and red flowers, delivered last minute, clutched in her gloved hands, her boyfriend trailing behind.
—
Gui Christ, National Geographic, "As coronavirus sweeps Brazil, families only have 10 minutes to say goodbye," 3 June 2020 No one really expected the Olsens to make a last minute cameo, but Michelle could have at least sent her sisters a note on their big day.
—
Sabienna Bowman, refinery29.com, "Fuller House’s Final Season Snuck In A Cheeky Goodbye To Michelle Tanner," 3 June 2020 In neighboring Poland, the government changed election laws at last minute and delayed a presidential vote from May 10 to a still unknown date.
—
Andrea Dudik, Bloomberg.com, "One Billionaire Leader Is Having a Good Virus Crisis," 13 May 2020 Last week, Amber Rudd, the former home secretary of the United Kingdom—akin to America’s Homeland Security chief—was disinvited from an International Women’s Day event at Oxford University at the last minute.
—
Libby Watson, The New Republic, "In Defense of Rude Politics," 10 Mar. 2020 And not knowing until the very last minute until the auction started, what to expect.
—
Susanne Fowler, New York Times, "Insiders Share Some Watch Auction Secrets," 1 May 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'last minute.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on last minute
What made you want to look up last minute? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
A More Exception(al) Quiz
- Which of the following words is not a synonym for ‘a young person’?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Share last minute
Time Traveler for last minute
The first known use of last minute was in 1653
See more words from the same year