last word

Definitions

1. 1

   The finest, highest, or ultimate representative of some class of objects.

   • Little Joe's mother's cake was the last word in cakes; [...]
   • Michaelis was the last word in what was caddish and bounderish.
2. 2

   A concluding remark

   A concluding remark; final advice, instructions, or observation.

   • ["]I have got my leave, and that is all I want." / "You had better receive the last word from my mother," said the marquis. / "Very good; I will go and get it," said Newman; and he prepared to return to the drawing-room.
   • [W]hen we had grasped hands for the last time and had said our last good-bye, he added this one more last word: "Of all the people I have ever known you are the only one I don't know."
3. 3

   The final statement uttered by a person before death.

   • Benjamin Franklin [...] pondered over his last words for as much as two weeks, and then when the time came, he said, "None but the brave deserve the fair," and died happy.
   • This account I am transmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word to those who are interested in our fate.
4. ›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer

   1. 4

      A final decision or remark, or the right to make one.

      • have the last word
      • get the last word
      • An Afghan Olympic official said the team holds the right to substitute Andyar with another female athlete, though the IOC would have the last word.

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