last-resortadj.
/ˌlɑːs(t)rᵻˈzɔːt/, /ˌlas(t)rᵻˈzɔːt/, U.S. /ˈlæs(t)rəˌzɔrt/, /ˈlæs(t)riˌzɔrt/ Used or adopted when there is no other option or when everything else has failed.
ΚΠ
1891 Ice & Refrigeration Sept. 157/2 Should the trouble continue and all effort to remedy prove unavailing, adopt a few last resort measures.
1913 Salt Lake Tribune 10 May 1/3 The third proposition reveals the last resort plan of the United States.
1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting 170 The pull-away should only be used as a last-resort defence.
1965 H. Kahn On Escalation i. 10 The threat of a strike or a lockout is ever present as a last-resort pressure for compromise.
1998 Zest Sept. 54/1 A last-resort treatment is an oestrogen patch that supplies the missing hormone but it can have side effects.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1891- about-writing
- abouter
- aboutest
- aboutface
- aboutforth
- aboutness
- abouts
- aboutsledge
- aboutspeech
- aboutstanding
- aboutter
- abouttest
- abouttobe
- aboutturn
- aboutward
- aboutwards
- aboutwriting
- above
- above a bit
- above a person's expectance
- above a person's reach
- above all
- above all price
- above and beyond
- above and beyond the call of duty