last resort

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]

Example Sentences

Delta Air Lines said cancelations are a last resort and that if a new itinerary no longer fits a passenger’s travel needs, it will provide full and timely refunds to those eligible.

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It doesn’t work for a struggling university program that would be a third tenant viewed as a last resort.

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The BBC also heard landlords were grappling with financial pressures - while the body representing lenders said seeking to repossess a home was "always a last resort".

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Seeking to repossess a home is "always a last resort" for lenders, said Karina Hutchins, a principal in the mortgage policy team at UK Finance, a trade association for the banking and financial services sector.

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Such relocations are a last resort when human activities or climate change threaten the survival of wildlife or peaceful coexistence with humans, say conservationists.

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