last straw

noun

A small addition to an already heavy burden which causes it to exceed the capacity.

“That's the last straw; it's a petty demand but I’m already under too much work. I quit!”

Similar
final strawthe straw that broke the camel's backthe stroke that broke the camel's back
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounlast straw (uncountable)
  1. idiomaticuncountablealmost always preceded by theA small addition to an already heavy burden which causes it to exceed the capacity.

    That's the last straw; it's a petty demand but I’m already under too much work. I quit!

    1 more example

    First to fail, inevitably, are the airlines. For Flybe, which was already losing money at the rate of £2 million a day, Coronavirus was the last straw.

    2020 March 25, “Network News: What COVID-19 means for rail in a wider transport context”, in Rail, page 10

    Synonyms: final straw, the straw that broke the camel's back, the stroke that broke the camel's back

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA small addition to an already heavy burden which causes it to exceed the capacity.

Similar
final strawthe straw that broke the camel's backthe stroke that broke the camel's back
Also see
final strawliving end

Origin

Ellipsis of the straw that broke the camel's back.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan la gota que fa vessar el got
  • la gota que fa vessar el gotsmall additional burden
Chinese Mandarin 最後一根稻草 /最后一根稻草
  • 最後一根稻草 /最后一根稻草 (zuìhòu yī gēn dàocǎo)small additional burden
Czech poslední kapka
  • poslední kapkasmall additional burden
Finnish viimeinen pisara, viimeinen niitti
  • viimeinen pisarasmall additional burden
  • viimeinen niittismall additional burden
French la goutte d’eau qui fait déborder le vase
  • la goutte d’eau qui fait déborder le vasesmall additional burden
German der Tropfen, der das Fass zum Überlaufen bringt, den letzten Rest geben
  • der Tropfen, der das Fass zum Überlaufen bringtsmall additional burden
  • den letzten Rest gebensmall additional burden
Hungarian utolsó csepp a pohárban
  • utolsó csepp a pohárbansmall additional burden
Irish buille na tubaiste
  • buille na tubaistesmall additional burden
Italian l'ultima goccia, la goccia che fa traboccare il vaso
  • l'ultima gocciasmall additional burden
  • la goccia che fa traboccare il vasosmall additional burden
Polish miarka się przebrała, ostatnia kropla
  • miarka się przebrałasmall additional burden
  • ostatnia kroplasmall additional burden
Portuguese última gota, gota d'água
  • última gotasmall additional burden
  • gota d'águasmall additional burden
Russian после́дняя ка́пля
  • после́дняя ка́пля (poslédnjaja káplja)small additional burden
Spanish la gota que colma el vaso, acabose
  • la gota que colma el vasosmall additional burden
  • acabosesmall additional burden
  • puntillasmall additional burden
  • colmosmall additional burden
Thai ฟางเส้นสุดท้าย
  • ฟางเส้นสุดท้าย (faang-sên-sùt-táai)small additional burden
Ukrainian оста́ння кра́пля
  • оста́ння кра́пля (ostánnja kráplja)small additional burden
Welsh ei diwedd hi
  • ei diwedd hismall additional burden
Cite this entry
APA

last straw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/last%20straw

MLA

“last straw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/last%20straw. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “last straw,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/last%20straw.

Source: last straw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.