last word

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.
   • 1917, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams, ch. 39:

     Little Joe's mother's cake was the last word in cakes.

   • 1928, D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, ch. 3:

     Michaelis was the last word in what was caddish and bounderish.

2. (idiomatic) Concluding remark; final observation, advice, or instructions.
   • 1877, Henry James, The American, ch. 12:

     "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.

   • 1918, W. H. Hudson, Far Away and Long Ago, ch. 24:

     [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 pluralized) The final statement uttered by a person before death.
   • 1889 Sept. 11, Mark Twain, "Last Words of Great Men," Buffalo Express:

     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.

   • 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World, ch. 7:

     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. (idiomatic) A final decision, or the right to make such a decision.
   • 2008 July 9, Jeff Israely, "Where Is the Afghan Female Runner?," Time:

     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.

• (finest or ultimate representative): exemplar

• "last word" at OneLook® Dictionary Search.

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