last rites
Americannoun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of last rites
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
Her last rites will take place on Monday evening at Shivaji Park in Mumbai city, with full state honours.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
The time has come to read the Phillies their last rites.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2025
On the morning of Sept. 11, while administering last rites to a firefighter, Judge, 68, was struck by falling debris and died.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 11, 2023
But when Ruth Wolff, the Institute’s head doctor, refuses to let a priest perform last rites because it would cause “an unpeaceful death,” ignorance amplified by social media turns a medical decision into a maelstrom.
From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2023
Abandoned by the cluster of ministrants who had obscured her as the last rites were being offered, Guenever stood like a beacon.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
