last quarter

American

noun

Astronomy.

the instant, approximately one week after a full moon, when half of the moon's disk is illuminated by the sun.

last quarter British

noun

one of the four principal phases of the moon, occurring between full moon and new moon, when half the lighted surface is visible Compare first quarter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

last quarter

OTTAWA—Canadian household spending looks to have been on the rise as the last quarter ended, with retail sales last month building on a rebound in August.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Nvidia also “risks overtaxing its balance sheet,” Goldberg said, pointing to about $250 billion in commitments it made in the last quarter.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Yu said in a client note on Monday that he thinks SpaceX spent $19 billion of capital last quarter, primarily focused on AI computing matters.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

The company’s gross margin reached 66.4% last quarter, down slightly from 67.7% in the second quarter, as it ramped up its 2-nanometer production.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The next school day, I met up with Lula at the main road as usual, and we walked the last quarter mile to school together, chatting about nothing in particular.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023