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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

"I didn't get together with him because he was a footballer so I never considered the footballer life - that he might just have to move at the last minute," she says.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

At the last minute, they turned sharply and went around the back of the building.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

Talia Kusmirek was making Fourth of July plans when her boss asked her to take a last-minute business trip from San Francisco to London.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Tourism leaders say they have not seen "a significant surge" in tourism or last-minute hotel bookings triggered by the eclipse but people attracted by the spectacle may have secured accommodation in advance.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 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

No dragons, of course, but plenty of political conniving, clashing swords and last-minute escapes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

I’m afraid she will have a last-minute change of heart, will control me in that way she does and force me back into the car just by saying my name.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson