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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

See Examples For:

last minute last-minute

Shoppers would see the total price before they pay for a ticket — but it may be at the last minute.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

In 2000, Bill Clinton switched presidential planes at the last minute while traveling from India to Pakistan, using a decoy aircraft carrying Secret Service agents.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

A week before, the forecasts turned, and I rerouted at the last minute to Montreal, to a small park built atop the ruins of Canada’s old Parliament building.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

The good news is that you’re planning ahead, rather than making these decisions at the last minute.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

She’s chewing her lip, ruining that pink lipstick she put on at the last minute.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Dumb luck and a last-minute assist from his less charismatic, bumbling pseudo-sibling finally get him into the spotlight.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

She said the last-minute demand had been "crazy" and they have have had to keep ringing Jim to ask for more supplies.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

When a seller doesn’t deliver, StubHub says it will try to find replacement seats, but for high-profile events, last-minute replacements rarely exist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

With a seeming majority of opticians and pharmacists out of stock, pastry chef Arno Dossogne, 37, struck gold at a small opticians' store that received a last-minute shipment Monday afternoon.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

He was on liaison duties in the French sector and initiated a last-minute evacuation of a small town west of Verdun before it was shelled.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan