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

Just like war itself, polygraphs should be a lever of last resort.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

The railroads advertised the L.A. climate as a last resort for the world’s sickly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Nvidia also recently signed deals with two young cloud-computing companies in Australia where it acts as a customer of last resort if they can’t find others to rent their computing power to.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

With the conflict in Iran now in its sixth month, U.S. refineries have become the world’s gasoline and diesel suppliers of last resort.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

But I don’t want her to think she’s a last resort.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko