First recorded in 1915–20
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Introducing the Journal’s last minute guide to the World Cup final:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Luis Espinola, a 61-year-old hotel employee, put it this way: "With Paraguay you have to suffer until the last minute."
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
"The phone doesn't stop ringing from 08:00 to 20:00 as people look for last minute, same day air-con units," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
And schools that delay submitting transfer paperwork until the last minute thinking investigators will be too busy to spot an error don’t understand the process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Sometimes Joe seemed to have forced Frank into a corner, but at the last minute Frank would execute a daring escape.
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
By contrast, a last-minute trip to Majorca for a family-of-four at that time starts from around £2,000.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
She gave no explanation for Trump’s last-minute shift and said the administration would “continue to talk” with the Saudis to “get the deal finalized.”
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
The flight ended up being canceled because of thunderstorms, the report said, but was one of a number of last-minute requests made by the Vances.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Kerner’s family were already fans—he and his wife had dressed up as Pitbull and Kesha in 2014 for Halloween—and they lucked into last-minute tickets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
I tried to catch Ma’s eyes through the fumes and dust that swirled up, but she was listening to Ba’s last-minute instructions.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
