last resort

Idioms  

1. A final expedient or recourse to achieve some end or settle a difficulty. For example, If you don't improve, we'll try this new medication as a last resort. This term originally referred to a court of law from which there was no appeal. [Late 1600s]

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Example Sentences

In a statement the CBA said its positions has "remained consistent" during the withdrawal of services and the action was taken as "a regrettable last resort".

From BBC • May 7, 2026

Campa-Najjar argues military force should be a last resort and must be authorized by Congress, while warning against unilateral actions that “escalate conflict without accountability.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Even a defensive war must be a last resort after all other efforts to prevent aggression have failed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Quiet professionals understand that violence is risky and costly, and use it only as a last resort.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

Aerial ramming—or, in Russian, taran—was a desperate tactic to be undertaken as a last resort.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein