last minute

noun

Definition of last minutenext
as in crisis
the last possible time when something can be done You shouldn't wait until the last minute before planning your retirement. They were making changes to the show right up to the last minute.

Related Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for last minute
  1. crisis
  2. emergency
  3. extremity
  4. possibility
  5. climax
  6. eleventh hour
  7. milestone
  8. zero hour
Noun
  • Advertisement The protests are also occurring amid a wider crisis of political confidence in the country.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The agency, created in 1974 in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, is tasked with maintaining energy security by deploying oil stockpiles in response to crises like the wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of crisis
Noun
  • The emergency reserve has already fallen to its lowest level since the 1980s following releases intended to cushion oil price shocks from the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine war.
    — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Elsewhere, a Ukrainian attack on Russia's eastern Belgorod region killed two people Friday, the area's regional emergency headquarters said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of emergency
Noun
  • The driver then reversed, freeing the man, who suffered severe injuries to his lower extremities.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The man had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his extremities, including his arms and legs.
    — Ricky Sayer, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of extremity
Noun
  • More than a splash of color Perhaps the more interesting possibility lies beyond multi-color printing altogether.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Major cringe, on the other hand, navigates the aesthetic affect critically and formally to induce it—viscerally exploiting its possibilities.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of possibility
Noun
  • The climax of Lukas Moodysson’s A Hole in My Heart (2004), where Geko vomits into Tess’s open mouth?
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Few scenes articulate that difference in social standing better than the ball that takes place at the climax of the film.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of climax
Noun
  • In the past, Palestinian leaders have postponed elections at the eleventh hour, citing challenges including campaigning and voting in East Jerusalem.
    — Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Civil litigation can drag on for years, frequently ending in settlements reached at the eleventh hour, just before a trial begins.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of eleventh hour
Noun
  • Other manufacturers have reported hourly production targets, weekly output figures, and cumulative production milestones.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
  • This is a milestone season for Abbott Elementary, which will hit its 100th episode around the fall finale.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of milestone
Noun
  • Nevertheless, this is an improvement on the zero hours that (many) men were doing 50 years ago.
    — Meg Walters, Glamour, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The King video marked the zero hour for new forms of activism using cameras.
    — Will Potter July 7, Literary Hub, 7 July 2025
Definition of zero hour
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

lastly
last minute
last minutes
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Cite this Entry

“Last minute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/last%20minute. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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