Meanings
plural last words
- idiomaticoften preceded by the and followed by inThe finest, highest, or ultimate representative of some class of objects.
Little Joe's mother's cake was the last word in cakes; [...]
1917, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “Captain Jim Crosses the Bar”, in Anne’s House of Dreams, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, published 1920, →OCLC, page 3321 more example
Michaelis was the last word in what was caddish and bounderish.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter III, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLCSynonyms: exemplar, paragon, ne plus ultra
- idiomaticA concluding remark; final advice, instructions, or observation.
[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."
1918, W. H. Hudson, chapter 24, in Far Away and Long Ago1 more example
["]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.
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 - in pluraloftensarcasticThe final statement uttered by a person before death.
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.
1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘To-morrow We Disappear into the Unknown’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 1091 more example
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.
1889 September 11, Mark Twain, “Last words of great men”, in Buffalo Express, Buffalo, N.Y. - idiomaticA final decision or remark, or the right to make one.
get the last word
2 more examples
have the last word
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.
2008 July 9, Jeff Israely, “Where Is the Afghan Female Runner?”, in Time, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2008
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe finest, highest, or ultimate representative of some class of objects.
More synonyms by meaning
nounelegance by virtue of being fashionable
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 極品 /极品, 終極代表 /终极代表
- 極品 /极品 (jípǐn)finest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- 終極代表 /终极代表 (zhōngjí dàibiǎo)finest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- 總結發言 /总结发言 (zǒngjié fāyán)concluding remarks
- 遗言 (yíyán)(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
- 最後發言權 /最后发言权 (zuìhòu fāyánquán)final decision or the right to make such a decision
Finnish viimeinen sana, viimeinen huuto
- viimeinen sanafinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- viimeinen huutofinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- viimeinen sanaconcluding remarks
- viimeiset sanat(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
- viimeinen sanafinal decision or the right to make such a decision
French dernière paroles
- dernière paroles(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
German Krone, Nonplusultra
- Kronefinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- Nonplusultrafinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- letztes Wortconcluding remarks
- letztes Wort(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
- letztes Wortfinal decision or the right to make such a decision
Hungarian csúcs, csimborasszó
- csúcsfinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- csimborasszófinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- netovábbfinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- non plus ultrafinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- végszóconcluding remarks
- zárszóconcluding remarks
- utolsó szó(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
- végső/döntő szófinal decision or the right to make such a decision
Icelandic síðasta orðið, eiga síðasta orðið
- síðasta orðiðconcluding remarks
- eiga síðasta orðiðconcluding remarks
- hinstu orð(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
- síðustu orð(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
Italian non plus ultra, l'ultima parola
- non plus ultrafinest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- l'ultima parolaconcluding remarks
Japanese 決定版
- 決定版 (ketteiban)final decision or the right to make such a decision
Polish ostatnie słowo
- ostatnie słowofinal decision or the right to make such a decision
Russian после́днее сло́во, после́днее сло́во
- после́днее сло́во (poslédneje slóvo)finest, highest or ultimate representation of some class of object
- после́днее сло́во (poslédneje slóvo)(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
- после́днее сло́во (poslédneje slóvo)final decision or the right to make such a decision
Tagalog huling kataga, huling kataga
- huling katagaconcluding remarks
- huling kataga(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
Vietnamese trăng trối
- trăng trối(often pluralized) final statement uttered before death
Cite this entry
last word. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/last%20word
“last word.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/last%20word. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “last word,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/last%20word.
Source: last word on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.