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• last minute
  last minute

  noun

  the time just preceding a deadline or when some decisive action must be taken.
• last-minute
  last-minute

  noun

  (modifier) given or done at the latest possible time

last minute

American  

[min-it] / ˈmɪn ɪt /

noun

last minutes plural

1. the time just preceding a deadline or when some decisive action must be taken.

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last-minute British  

noun

1. (modifier) given or done at the latest possible time

   last-minute preparations

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• last-minute
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• last minutes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of last minute

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Brazil won in the last minute, Germany and the Netherlands have gone out.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

And schools that delay submitting transfer paperwork until the last minute thinking investigators will be too busy to spot an error don’t understand the process.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026

In the 1980s, a company contracted with J&J to bake a specialty pastry, but backed out at the last minute when its parent company went bankrupt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

A training camp that had been fixed in Tucson, Arizona, was nixed at the last minute, with Iran setting up instead in Tijuana, just over the Mexican border.

From Barron's • Jun. 14, 2026

She yanks up my laundry bag and, at the last minute, scoops up the diary and stuffs it inside.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez