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.
Today, it’s as though it’s waiting for last rites.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
Shawn Charlwood, chairman of the British Dental Association's general dental practice committee, said the report "reads like the last rites for NHS dentistry" and that "patients and this profession deserve some honesty here".
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2023
Even if you know something about Kennedy’s lifelong health problems, their extent and seriousness are shocking: He was given last rites twice before his last last rites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
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
The priest who delivered Holmes’s last rites was found dead on the grounds of his church of mysterious causes.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
