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
At least 10 lawsuits have been filed over congestion pricing, including a last-ditch effort from the state of New Jersey to have a judge put up a temporary roadblock against it, which failed on Saturday after a federal appeals court upheld an earlier ruling against the state's suit. Robbie Griffiths, NPR, 5 Jan. 2025 Bowman’s lawyers asked the state Supreme Court to delay his execution to allow a hearing on his last-ditch appeal arguing that his trial lawyer was not prepared and had too much sympathy for the white victim and not his black client. Landon Mion, Fox News, 5 Jan. 2025
Noun
Bankers see a 'last ditch effort' by CFPB Bankers defended the safety of the Zelle app, and said the CFPB was overreaching in its actions. Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 20 Dec. 2024 What to watch: Sullivan is traveling to Israel, Egypt and Qatar this week in a last ditch effort to reach a deal before Trump's inauguration in less than six weeks. Barak Ravid, Axios, 11 Dec. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near last-ditch

last day

last-ditch

last ditch

Cite this Entry

“Last-ditch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/last-ditch. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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