Definition of LAST STRAW

Examples of last straw in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The last straw came in 1639, when his wife, Grietje Reyniers, was accused of insinuating that the wife of the colony’s religious leader had herself solicited prostitution. — Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, "Brooklyn’s Muslim Presence Goes Back Centuries. Here’s Proof From 1643.," 3 Dec. 2019 To kind of see some of the old stuff go back, like I’m just done with it.’’ The Steelers report was kind of the last straw for him, especially because Mike Tomlin yawned when ESPN asked him in the offseason about facing Beckham twice. — Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland, "Browns’ Odell Beckham Jr.: ‘I’m not going anywhere; It’s just too special to leave’," 18 Dec. 2019 Or will the jury believe that a photo of Daniel's new girlfriend on social media was the last straw for Erika? — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, "Did a photograph posted on social media lead to a cop's death?," 6 Dec. 2019 For some, however, that accolade was the last straw. — Julia Moskin, New York Times, "A Celebrity Sommelier Is Accused of Sexual Assault," 1 Nov. 2019 The woman in Row B of the mezzanine crinkling her Twizzlers after inhaling a bag of pretzels during the overture was the last straw! — Seth Fradkoff, Town & Country, "The New Rules of Theater Etiquette," 17 Oct. 2019 The last straw was the £1.5bn in losses the company made in the six months to March, which damaged the company’s balance sheet. — The Economist, "Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel company, collapses," 23 Sep. 2019 Her resignation as head of the House of Commons last month proved the last straw for Theresa May, who resigned two days later. — Quartz Staff, Quartz, "Meet all the candidates in the running to be the UK’s next prime minister," 31 May 2019 Fitzgerald was fired by City Manager David Cooke after an incident in Washington, D.C., that officials described as the last straw. — Marc Ramirez, Dallas News, "Fort Worth must wait to replace fired police chief while he fights dismissal, judge rules," 19 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'last straw.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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last thing on someone's mind

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Last Updated

13 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Last straw.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/last%20straw. Accessed 26 January 2020.