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

See Examples For:

last resort

It has warned that as a last resort, large industrial consumers would have to face restrictions on consumption in the evening hours to save electricity.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

It’s the last resort for institutions on the brink: tapping restricted funds from donors to keep the lights on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Bankruptcy is considered a last resort because of its long-term consequences on your credit score, especially if your debt payments and expenses exceed your income.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

"Fasting is his last resort in the place of the sword," Gandhi wrote, external in 1948, on the eve of his last fast.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

But their code of law is dictated, in the last resort, by the people who organize society; Providence takes its cue from men.”

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley