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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.

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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
  • These micro-drones usually crash in low-visibility crisis zones where dust, smoke, or pitch darkness blinds cameras.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Told in a comic, vibrant tone, this picaresque story follows the very wealthy Taiwanese-Chinese Wang family, who suddenly lose their fortune in the 2008 financial crisis and embark on a California-to-New York road trip, in a final bid for salvation.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of crisis
Noun
  • The governor’s office said the state was securing its harbors, deploying emergency personnel to strategic locations and monitoring dams for any possible breaches or overflows.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Beatty then filed an emergency motion, claiming the actions still cross a line.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of emergency
Noun
  • The researchers think that the extremity of this shrinking has gone unnoticed previously because bombardment from space rocks over time has created craters that obscured the evidence of this process.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Some saw this reaction as sociopathic, but its extremity was the very point.
    — Elizabeth Nicholas, Vanity Fair, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of extremity
Noun
  • Let collaboration expand the possibility without handing over ownership of it.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • There was still the possibility that all of this had been a colossal instance of jumping to conclusions on Tristan’s part, and that the name Buster had been chosen at random for its mass appeal.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of possibility
Noun
  • In what is arguably the ballet’s climax, the Joffrey’s entire bench of 24 men performs as a spectacular corps de ballet, dancing out the frustration of being unable to find work when the 1920s crash into the ‘30s.
    — Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The climax of the 2026 season is coming as the young league continues to gain momentum.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of climax
Noun
  • Why the eleventh hour came with an extra second, killing time proved impossible, and time fails to fly in Ann Arbor.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Fox arrived on the production at the eleventh hour after the production’s original Romeo, Richard Madden, and then his understudy were indisposed.
    — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of eleventh hour
Noun
  • The feat would mark a significant milestone as SpaceX works to develop Starship to become the first fully reusable launch vehicle, with both the lower- and upper-stages of the rocket able to fly multiple times.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2026
  • So, when another milestone lands on the calendar—say, Nordstrom’s 125th Anniversary celebration—we’re more than happy to start loading up our carts.
    — Madison San Miguel, Allure, 16 Sep. 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 20 Sep. 2026.

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