last word

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
(Redirected from have the last word)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

last word (plural last words)

  1. (idiomatic, often preceded by the and followed by in) The finest, highest, or ultimate representative of some class of objects.
    Synonym: exemplar
  2. (idiomatic) Concluding remark; final advice, instructions, or observation.
    • 1876 October, Henry James, Jr., chapter XII, in The American, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, [], published 5 May 1877, →OCLC, page 205:
      ["]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.
    • 1918, W. H. Hudson, chapter 24, in Far Away and Long Ago:
      [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. (often sarcastic, often pluralized) The final statement uttered by a person before death.
  4. (idiomatic) A final decision or remark, or the right to make one.
    have the last word
    get the last word
    • 2008 July 9, Jeff Israely, “Where Is the Afghan Female Runner?”, in Time[2], archived from the original on 10 August 2008:
      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.

Translations

[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • last word”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

[edit]