Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Just before a deadline; at the last moment: Used to describe something that is done, made, or happens at the very end of the available time, often in a rushed or urgent manner.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • We made some last-minute changes to the presentation.
  • He always does last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve.
  • The trip was canceled due to a last-minute complication.

Advanced Usage

• "last-minute decision": A choice or resolution made at the final possible moment.
  • Their wedding was a last-minute decision; they planned it in just two weeks.
• "last-minute rush": A period of frantic activity immediately before a deadline.
  • The airport was crowded with travelers in the usual last-minute rush before the holiday.

Variants and Related Words

• Last-ditch (adj): A final, desperate attempt made when all else has failed.
  • They made a last-ditch effort to save the project.
• Eleventh-hour (adj): Occurring or done at the latest possible time before it is too late (synonymous with "last-minute").
  • An eleventh-hour agreement prevented the strike.

Synonyms

• Hasty: Done with excessive speed or urgency.
• Belated: Coming or happening later than should have been the case.

Related Phrases

• At the last minute: As an adverbial phrase with the same core meaning as the adjective.
  • The deal was finalized at the last minute.
• Down to the wire: An idiom meaning until the last possible moment.
  • The negotiations went down to the wire.

Related Idioms

• In the nick of time: Just in time; at the last possible moment before it is too late.
  • The ambulance arrived in the nick of time.

Adjective

1. just before a deadline; at the last minute
   • last-minute arrangements