last-ditch

1 of 2

adjective

1
: fought or conducted from the last ditch : waged with desperation or unyielding defiance
put up a last-ditch resistance
2
: made as a final effort especially to avert disaster
a last-ditch attempt to raise the money

last ditch

2 of 2

noun

: a place of final defense or resort

Examples of last-ditch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
The European Union’s top trade official is traveling to Washington this week to meet counterparts for a last-ditch effort to avoid getting hit by duties in April. Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2025 And speaking of the battery … The optional hand-crank generator can be used to deliver a bit of last-ditch juice to the thing, when no other options are available. Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 15 Feb. 2025
Noun
Saunders drained both attempts to give the Cougars a one-point lead and BYU was able to stave off Arizona’s last ditch effort with just 3.2 seconds remaining for a famous victory. Ben Morse, CNN, 24 Feb. 2025 McTavish nearly completed his first career hat trick into the empty net, but a last ditch effort by former Duck Rickard Rakell forced his one-handed shot attempt into the post. Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 24 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for last-ditch

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1888, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1706, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of last-ditch was in 1706

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Cite this Entry

“Last-ditch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/last-ditch. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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