Definition: last

Source: WordNet (r) 1.7

last
     adj 1: immediately past; "last Thursday"; "the last chapter we
            read" [syn: last]
     2: coming after all others in time or space or degree or being
        the only one remaining; "the last time I saw Paris"; "the
        last day of the month"; "had the last word"; "waited until
        the last minute"; "he raised his voice in a last supreme
        call"; "the last game of the season"; "down to his last
        nickel" [ant: intermediate, first]
     3: occurring at or forming an end or termination; "his
        concluding words came as a surprise"; "the final chapter";
        "the last days of the dinosaurs"; "terminal leave" [syn: concluding,
         final, terminal]
     4: more advanced in time or nearer to the end in a sequence;
        "these latter days"; "the latter (or last) part of the
        book"; "latter (or later) part of the 18th century" [syn:
        later, last, latter]
     5: conclusive in a process or progression; "the final answer";
        "a last resort"; "the net result" [syn: final, net]
     6: most unlikely or unsuitable; "the last person we would have
        suspected"; "the last man they would have chosen for the
        job"
     7: occurring at the time of death; "his last words"; "the last
        rites"
     8: not to be altered or undone; "the judge's decision is
        final"; "the arbiter will have the last say" [syn: final]
     9: lowest in rank or importance; "last prize"; "in last place"
        [syn: last-place, lowest]
     10: highest in extent or degree; "to the last measure of human
         endurance"; "whether they were accomplices in the last
         degree or a lesser one was...to be determined
         individually" [syn: utmost]
     11: in accord with the most fashionable ideas or style; "wears
         only the latest style"; "the last thing in swimwear";
         "knows the newest dances"; "up-to-date technology" [syn:
         latest, newest, up-to-date]
     n 1: the temporal end; the concluding time; "the stopping point
          of each round was signaled by a bell"; "the market was
          up at the finish"; "they were playing better at the
          close of the season" [syn: stopping point, finale, finis,
           finish, conclusion, close]
     2: the last or lowest in an ordering or series; "he was the
        last to leave"; "he finished an inglorious last"
     3: a person's dying act; the last thing a person can do; "he
        breathed his last"
     4: the end of life; continuing until dead; "he bled to death";
        "a struggle to the last" [syn: death]
     5: a unit of weight equal to 4,000 pounds
     6: (British) a unit of capacity for grain equal to 80 bushels
     7: the concluding parts of an event or occurrence: "the end was
        exciting"; "I had to miss the last of the movie" [syn: end,
         final stage]
     8: holding device shaped like a human foot that is used to
        fashion or repair shoes [syn: shoemaker's last, cobbler's
        last]
     adv 1: more recently than any other time; "I saw him last in
            London" [syn: most recently]
     2: the item at the end; "last, I'll discuss family values"
        [syn: lastly, in conclusion, finally]
     v 1: be long; in time [syn: endure]
     2: continue to live; endure or last; "We went without water and
        food for 3 days"; "The legend of Elvis lives on"; "These
        superstitions survive in the backwaters of America"; "The
        racecar driver lived through several very serious
        accidents" [syn: survive, live, live on, go, endure,
         hold up, hold out]
     3: persist or continue; "The rains lasted four days"

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Last \Last\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lasted; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Lasting.] [OE. lasten, As. l[ae]stan to perform, execute,
   follow, last, continue, fr. l[=a]st, l?st, trace, footstep,
   course; akin to G. leisten to perform, Goth. laistjan to
   follow. See Last mold of the foot.]
   1. To continue in time; to endure; to remain in existence.

            [I] proffered me to be slave in all that she me
            would ordain while my life lasted.    --Testament of
                                                  Love.

   2. To endure use, or continue in existence, without
      impairment or exhaustion; as, this cloth lasts better than
      that; the fuel will last through the winter.

Last \Last\, 3d pers. sing. pres.
   of Last, to endure, contracted from lasteth. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

Last \Last\, a. [OE. last, latst, contr. of latest, superl. of
   late; akin to OS. lezt, lazt, last, D. laatst, G. letzt. See
   Late, and cf. Latest.]
   1. Being after all the others, similarly classed or
      considered, in time, place, or order of succession;
      following all the rest; final; hindmost; farthest; as, the
      last year of a century; the last man in a line of
      soldiers; the last page in a book; his last chance.

            Also day by day, from the first day unto the last
            day, he read in the book of the law of God. --Neh.
                                                  viii. 18.

            Fairest of stars, last in the train of night.
                                                  --Milton.

   2. Next before the present; as, I saw him last week.

   3. Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.

            Contending for principles of the last importance.
                                                  --R. Hall.

   4. Lowest in rank or degree; as, the last prize. --Pope.

   5. Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or
      condition; most unlikely; having least fitness; as, he is
      the last person to be accused of theft.

Last \Last\, adv. [See Last, a.]
   1. At a time or on an occasion which is the latest of all
      those spoken of or which have occurred; the last time; as,
      I saw him last in New York.

   2. In conclusion; finally.

Last \Last\, n. [AS. l[=a]sttrace, track, footstep; akin to D.
   leest a last, G. leisten, Sw. l["a]st, Dan. l[ae]st, Icel.
   leistr the foot below the ankle, Goth. laists track, way;
   from a root signifying, to go. Cf. Last, v. i., Learn,
   Delirium.]
   A wooden block shaped like the human foot, on which boots and
   shoes are formed.

         The cobbler is not to go beyond his last. --L'Estrange.

   Darning last, a smooth, hard body, often egg-shaped, put
      into a stocking to preserve its shape in darning.

Last \Last\, v. t.
   To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place
   smoothly on a last; as, to last a boot.

Last \Last\, n. [As. hl[ae]st, fr. hladan to lade; akin to OHG.
   hlast, G., D., Dan., & Sw. last: cf. F. laste, last, a last,
   of German or Dutch origin. See Lade.]
   1. A load; a heavy burden; hence, a certain weight or
      measure, generally estimated at 4,000 lbs., but varying
      for different articles and in different countries. In
      England, a last of codfish, white herrings, meal, or
      ashes, is twelve barrels; a last of corn, ten quarters, or
      eighty bushels, in some parts of England, twenty-one
      quarters; of gunpowder, twenty-four barrels, each
      containing 100 lbs; of red herrings, twenty cades, or
      20,000; of hides, twelve dozen; of leather, twenty
      dickers; of pitch and tar, fourteen barrels; of wool,
      twelve sacks; of flax or feathers, 1,700 lbs.

   2. The burden of a ship; a cargo.

LAST, n.  A shoemaker's implement, named by a frowning Providence as
opportunity to the maker of puns.

    Ah, punster, would my lot were cast,
        Where the cobbler is unknown,
    So that I might forget his last
        And hear your own.
                                                          Gargo Repsky