Wiktionary

last

See also: lást, Last, läst, låst, and læst

English

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WOTD – 15 November 2025
English numbers (edit)
1 2  → [a], [b], [c], [d]
    Cardinal: one
    Ordinal: first
    Abbreviated ordinal: 1st
    Latinate ordinal: primary
    Reverse order ordinal: last
    Latinate reverse order ordinal: ultimate
    Adverbial: one time, once
    Multiplier: onefold
    Latinate multiplier: single
    Distributive: singly
    Germanic collective: onesome
    Collective of n parts: singlet, singleton
    Greek or Latinate collective: monad
    Greek collective prefix: mono-
    Latinate collective prefix: uni-
    Fractional: whole
    Elemental: singlet, singleton
    Greek prefix: proto-
    Number of musicians: solo
    Number of years: year

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English laste, latst, syncopated variant of latest, both ultimately from Old English latost. Doublet of latest.

Adjective

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last (not comparable)

  1. Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind.
    Will try to fix it by myself for now: as a last resort, we can always take it to a grease monkey.
    Eyes Wide Shut was the last film to be directed by Stanley Kubrick.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […] , down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
  2. Most recent, latest, last so far.
    The last time I saw him, he was married.
    I have received your note dated the 17th last, and am responding to say that […] (archaic usage)
    • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
      She told him the last news about little Georgy, and how he was gone to spend that very day with his sisters in the country.
    • 2013 May 25, “No Hiding Place”, in The Economist‎[1], volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
      In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year.
  3. Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely, or least preferable.
    He is the last person to be accused of theft.
    The last person I want to meet is Helen.
    More rain is the last thing we need right now.
  4. Being the only one remaining of its class.
    Japan is the last empire.
  5. Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.
    • 1802, Robert Hall, Reflections on War:
      Contending for principles of the last importance.
  6. Lowest in rank or degree.
    Three contestants will win awards, but the last prize is just a book voucher.
    • 1797 May 8 (first performance), Richard Cumberland, “The Last of the Family. A Comedy.”, in Frances Marianne [Cumberland] Jansen, editor, The Posthumous Dramatick Works of the Late Richard Cumberland, Esq. […], volume II, London: […] [F]or G[eorge] and W[illiam] Nicol, […]; by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co., […], published 1813, →OCLC, Act III, scene [iii], page 237:
      In one word then, unless I could unfold the mystery, I will not wish you to consider me but as the last and lowest of mankind.
    • 1899, Richard Savage, The White Lady of Khaminavatka: A Story of the Ukraine, page 186:
      The whole community from the patrician master to the last beggar knew that in the five months when the generous bosom of the steppe throbbed with creative life, they must toil for the subsistence of all […]
    • 1970, Julius Fast, Body Language, →ISBN, page 39:
      Lesser, but still important executives had offices without corner windows. The rank below this had offices without windows at all. […] The last rank had desks out in an open room.
    • 2003 March 31, Marko Peljhan, “Lecture: March 31, 2003”, in Jen Budney, Adrian Blackwell, editors, Unboxed Engagements in Social Space, published 2005, →ISBN, page 110:
      Russia is a very different place than here. […] Even the last soldier knows who Malevich was, and what the Black Square is, since they were taught this in school.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Determiner

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last

  1. The (one) immediately before the present.
    We went there last year.
    I was last to go; you're next.
  2. (of days of the week or months of the year) Closest in the past, or closest but one if the closest was very recent; of days, sometimes thought to specifically refer to the instance closest to seven days (one week) ago, or the most recent instance before seven days (one week) ago.
    It's Wednesday, and the party was last Tuesday; that is, not yesterday, but eight days ago.
    When you say last Monday, do you mean the Monday just gone, or the one before that?
    Where my brother had stood last night, I now stood.
Usage notes
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  • (both senses): This cannot be used in past or future tense to refer to a time immediately before the subject matter. For example, one does not say I was very tired yesterday, due to not having slept well last night: last night in that sentence refers to the night before the speaker is speaking, not the night before the "yesterday" to which he refers. He would need to say I was very tired yesterday, due to not having slept well the night before or the like.
Translations
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Adverb

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last (not comparable)

  1. Most recently.
    When we last met, he was based in Toronto.
  2. (sequence) after everything else; finally
    As I arrived last of all, I'll go last to add the butter last.
    last but not least
Synonyms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English lasten, from Old English lǣstan, from Proto-West Germanic *laistijan, from Proto-Germanic *laistijaną. Cognate with German leisten (“yield”).

Verb

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last (third-person singular simple present lasts, present participle lasting, simple past and past participle lasted)

  1. (intransitive) To endure, continue over time.
    Summer seems to last longer each year.
    They seem happy now, but that won't last long.
    They say this blizzard might last (for) days.
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XLII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 65:
      And love will last as pure and whole
      ⁠As when he loved me here in Time,
      ⁠And at the spiritual prime
      Rewaken with the dawning soul.
    • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:
      Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].
    • 2023 November 15, Prof. Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 30:
      One of the earliest (and biggest) space weather events on record occurred in September 1859, when a massive solar eruption crashed into the Earth's magnetosphere, triggering a geomagnetic storm that lasted for days.
  2. (intransitive) To hold out, continue undefeated or entire.
    I don't know how much longer we can last without reinforcements.
  3. (intransitive, slang, of a man) To purposefully refrain from orgasm
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To perform, carry out.
Synonyms
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The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}}.
Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 3

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    A pair of wooden lasts.

    The noun is derived from Middle English lest, leste (“shoemaker’s model shaped like a foot, last”),[1] from Old English lǣste (“shoemaker‘s last”),[2] from Proto-Germanic *laistiz, from *laisǭ (“track, trail”), from Proto-Indo-European *leys-eh₂-, from *leys- (“to trace; to track”).[3] Doublet of learn and lore.

    The verb is derived from the noun.[4]

    cognates

    Noun

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    last (plural lasts)

    2. (shoemaking) A tool in the form of a foot on which an item of footwear (such as a boot or shoe) is placed for shaping while it is being manufactured or repaired.
      Hyponyms: bootlast, shoe-last
      Coordinate terms: boot tree, shoe tree
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    Verb

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    last (third-person singular simple present lasts, present participle lasting, simple past and past participle lasted)

    1. (transitive, shoemaking) To shape (an item of footwear such as a boot or shoe) during its manufacture or repair while it is placed on a last (noun etymology 3, noun sense 1).
      to last a boot
      • 1819 November 1, William Archer Deacon, “Specification of the Patent Granted to William Archer Deacon, of Pilgrim’s Hatch, in the Parish of South Weald, in the County of Essex, Gentleman; for Certain Improvements in the Manufacture of Boots, Shoes, and Clogs, by the Application of Certain Materials hitherto Unused for that Purpose. Dated November 1, 1819”, in The Repertory of Arts, Manufactures, and Agriculture. […], volume XXXVIII (2nd Series), number CCXXVII, London: […] [Nichols and Son] for J. Wyatt, […], published April 1821, →OCLC, page 278:
        I now begin to last the boot, shoe, or clog with a wax thread, in the same way as boot or shoemakers brace the toe-part of a boot or shoe down to the inner sole, but no nails or tacks must be used, […]
      • 2010, Paul Langer, “Cycling”, in Matthew B. Werd, E. Leslie Knight, editors, Athletic Footwear and Orthoses in Sports Medicine, New York, N.Y.; Dordrecht, South Holland: Springer Science+Business Media, →DOI, →ISBN, part II (Sport-specific Recommendations), page 201:
        Sport cycling shoes are lasted on semi-curved or semi-straight lasts much like walking and hiking shoes.
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    Etymology 4

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    From Middle English last, from Old English hlæst (“burden, load, freight”), from Proto-Germanic *hlastuz (“burden, load, freight”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂- (“to put, lay out”). Cognate with West Frisian lêst, Dutch last, German Last, Swedish last, Icelandic lest.

    Noun

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    last (plural lasts or lasten)

    1. (obsolete) A burden; load; a cargo; freight.
    2. (obsolete) A measure of weight or quantity, varying in designation depending on the goods concerned.
      • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 114:
        Now we so quietly followed our businesse, that in three moneths wee made three or foure Last of Tarre, Pitch, and Sope ashes [...].
      • 1866, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 1, page 169:
        The last of wool is twelve sacks.
    3. (obsolete) An old English (and Dutch) measure of the carrying capacity of a ship, equal to two tons.
    4. A load of some commodity with reference to its weight and commercial value.
    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    References

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    1. ^ “lē̆st(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
    2. ^ Joseph Bosworth (1882), “lǽste”, in T[homas] Northcote Toller, editor, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 612, column 2.
    3. ^ Compare “last, n.1”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024; “last3, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
    4. ^ “last, v.4”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2025.

    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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    Chinese

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    Etymology

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    From English last.

    Pronunciation 1

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    Adjective

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    last

    1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) last (final; ultimate)

    Adverb

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    last

    1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) finally; in the end; ultimately

    Pronunciation 2

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    Verb

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    last

    1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to last (to endure)

    Danish

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    From Middle Low German last, from the verb laden (“to transport”), from Old Saxon hladan.

    Noun

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    last c (singular definite lasten, plural indefinite laster)

    1. cargo
    2. cargo hold, hold (cargo area)
    3. weight, burden
    Inflection
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    Declension of last
    common
    gender     		singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative last lasten laster lasterne
    genitive lasts lastens lasters lasternes
    Synonyms
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    Etymology 2

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    From Old Norse lǫstr, from the root of Proto-Germanic *lahaną (“to reproach, blame”), see also Old High German lastar (“vice”).

    Noun

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    last c (singular definite lasten, plural indefinite laster)

    1. vice
    Inflection
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    Declension of last
    common
    gender     		singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative last lasten laster lasterne
    genitive lasts lastens lasters lasternes

    Etymology 3

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    See laste (“to load, carry”) and laste (“to blame”).

    Verb

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    last

    1. imperative of laste

    Further reading

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    Dutch

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    From Middle Dutch last, from Old Dutch *last, from Proto-Germanic *hlastuz. Equivalent to laden (“to load”) +‎ -st (“verbal noun”).

    Noun

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    last m (plural lasten, diminutive lastje n)

    1. load, weight
    2. burden
    3. hindrance, problem
    4. expense
    5. (law) requirement, duty
    6. (dated) a measure of volume, 3 cubic meter
    Derived terms
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    Descendants
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    • Negerhollands: last

    Etymology 2

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    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

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    last

    1. inflection of lassen:
      1. second/third-person singular present indicative
      2. (archaic) plural imperative

    Anagrams

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    Estonian

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    Noun

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    last (genitive lasti, partitive lasti)

    1. cargo

    Declension

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    Declension of last (ÕS type 22e/riik, length gradation)
    singular plural
    nominative last lastid
    accusative nom.
    gen. lasti
    genitive lastide
    partitive lasti laste
    lastisid
    illative lasti
    lastisse     		lastidesse
    lastesse
    inessive lastis lastides
    lastes
    elative lastist lastidest
    lastest
    allative lastile lastidele
    lastele
    adessive lastil lastidel
    lastel
    ablative lastilt lastidelt
    lastelt
    translative lastiks lastideks
    lasteks
    terminative lastini lastideni
    essive lastina lastidena
    abessive lastita lastideta
    comitative lastiga lastidega

    Noun

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    last

    1. partitive singular of laps

    Faroese

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    From Old Norse lǫstr, from the root of Proto-Germanic *lahaną (“to reproach, blame”), see also Old High German lastar (“vice”).

    Noun

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    last f (genitive singular lastar, plural lastir)

    1. vice
    Inflection
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    f2 singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative last lastin lastir lastirnar
    accusative last lastina lastir lastirnar
    dative last lastini lastum lastunum
    genitive lastar lastarinnar lasta lastanna

    Etymology 2

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    From Middle Low German last, from the verb lāden (“to load”), from Old Saxon hladan.

    Noun

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    last f (genitive singular lastar, plural lastir)

    1. cargo
    2. cargo hold, hold (cargo area)
    Inflection
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    f2 singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative last lastin lastir lastirnar
    accusative last lastina lastir lastirnar
    dative last lastini lastum lastunum
    genitive lastar lastarinnar lasta lastanna

    German

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    Etymology 1

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    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Pronunciation

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    Verb

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    last

    1. second-person singular preterite of lesen
      Synonym: lasest
    2. second-person plural preterite of lesen

    Etymology 2

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    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Pronunciation

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    Verb

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    last

    1. alternative form of laste
      1. imperative singular of lasten
      2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of lasten

    Icelandic

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    Etymology

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    See löstur (“fault, vice, reprehensible action”).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    last n (genitive singular lasts, no plural)

    1. blame
      Synonym: baktal

    Declension

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    Declension of last (sg-only neuter)
    singular
    indefinite definite
    nominative last lastið
    accusative last lastið
    dative lasti lastinu
    genitive lasts lastsins

    Derived terms

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    Middle Dutch

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    Etymology

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    From Old Dutch *last, from Proto-Germanic *hlastuz.

    Noun

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    last m or f or n

    1. load, weight
    2. task, duty, obligation
    3. tax (money)
    4. (emotional) difficulty, sorrow
    5. a unit of volume

    Inflection

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    Strong masculine noun
    singular plural
    nominative last laste
    accusative last laste
    genitive lasts laste
    dative laste lasten
    Strong feminine noun
    singular plural
    nominative last laste
    accusative last laste
    genitive last, laste laste
    dative last, laste lasten
    Strong neuter noun
    singular plural
    nominative last last, laste
    accusative last last, laste
    genitive lasts laste
    dative laste lasten

    Descendants

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    Further reading

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    Norwegian Bokmål

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    Etymology 1

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    From Middle Low German last.

    Noun

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    last f or m (definite singular lasta or lasten, indefinite plural laster, definite plural lastene)

    1. a load or cargo
    Derived terms
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    Etymology 2

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    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

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    last

    1. imperative of laste

    References

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    Norwegian Nynorsk

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    Etymology

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    From Middle Low German last.

    Noun

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    last f or m (definite singular lasta or lasten, indefinite plural laster or lastar, definite plural lastene or lastane)

    1. a load or cargo

    Derived terms

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    References

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    Old English

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-West Germanic *laist, along with the feminine variant lǣst.

    Cognates

    Cognate with Middle Dutch leest (Dutch leest), Old High German leist (German Leist), Old Norse leistr (“foot, sock”) (Swedish läst, Danish læst).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    lāst m (nominative plural lāstas)

    1. footstep, track
      • 10th century, The Wanderer:
        Stondeð nū on lāste · lēofre duguþe
        weal wundrum hēah, · wyrmlīcum fāh.
        Now a wall stands in the track of dear band,
        wondrously high, with worm-forms adorned.

    Declension

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    Strong a-stem:

    singular plural
    nominative lāst lāstas
    accusative lāst lāstas
    genitive lāstes lāsta
    dative lāste lāstum

    Derived terms

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    Slovene

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-Slavic *volstь, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *walˀstís, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-. First attested in the 16th century.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    lȃst f

    1. property

    Declension

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    		 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
    Feminine, i-stem, long mixed accent
    nominative lást
    genitive lastí
    singular
    nominative
    (imenovȃlnik)     		lást
    genitive
    (rodȋlnik)     		lastí
    dative
    (dajȃlnik)     		lásti
    accusative
    (tožȋlnik)     		lást
    locative
    (mẹ̑stnik)     		lásti
    instrumental
    (orọ̑dnik)     		lastjó

    Further reading

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    • “last”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
    • “last”, in Termania, Amebis
    • See also the general references

    Swedish

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    From Middle Low German last, from the verb lāden (“to load”), from Old Saxon hladan.

    Noun

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    last c

    1. cargo
    2. load; a burden
    3. load; a certain amount that can be processed at one time
    4. (engineering) load; a force on a structure
    5. (electrical engineering) load; any component that draws current or power
    Declension
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    Declension of last
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite last lasts
    definite lasten lastens
    plural indefinite laster lasters
    definite lasterna lasternas
    Derived terms
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    See also
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    Etymology 2

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    From Old Swedish laster (Old Icelandic lǫstr), from Old Norse löstr, from the root of Proto-Germanic *lahaną (“to reproach, blame”), see also Old High German lastar (“vice”).

    Noun

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    last c

    1. habit which is difficult to get rid of, vice
      Rökning var hans enda last
      Smoking was his only vice
    Declension
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    Declension of last
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite last lasts
    definite lasten lastens
    plural indefinite laster lasters
    definite lasterna lasternas
    Derived terms
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    Anagrams

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