last mile

American  

noun

1. the distance walked by a condemned person from their cell to the place of execution.

---

last mile Cultural  

1. The phrase used to describe one of the problems in attaining higher-speed, higher-capacity information flow to every household. It refers to the copper telephone wire that still carries information to households. The limited capacity of the wire slows data transmission even though it is possible to send data over high-capacity systems from anywhere in the world to within the “the last mile” (give or take) before the house. The use of cable technology, fiber optic technology, and wireless satellite technology are several of the solutions used to address this problem.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

last mile

The last mile is typically the most expensive part of the e-commerce fulfillment process, because carrying one or two packages to individual addresses is so labor-intensive and time-intensive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

“I think of these cuts as having taken out some insurance to support the labor market as we work to complete the last mile to bring inflation back to target,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

But the last mile of inflation has proved difficult.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 6, 2025

The last mile of a long journey is often the hardest.

From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025

In the last mile, the Washington boat lengthened its lead a bit more with each stroke.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---