at the last minute
101
2.5
- idiom
:
en el último momento
- One doesn't cancel an affair of this magnitude at the last minute, does one?
- decide at the last minute
- cancel at the last minute
- throw together at the last minute
Right at the last minute, you decided you didn't want to do it right.
- Right at the last minute, you decided you didn't want to do it right.
- She's kind of about to marry this guy and at the last minute says, can't do it.
- During this time a group of young, very fit men got on board at the last minute.
- So find people who will, because it's tough to scramble on stuff like caregiving at the last minute.
- Wow, it would be very weird and what an and anyone could throw their hat in at the last minute.
- And I think at the last minute he was like, fuck it.
- This vaccine seems like something somebody made at the last minute to get AC.
Examples
-
An emirate from one of those Arab countries canceled at the last minute.
Fiction book (1991) -
So today Trump, the political genius, said at the last minute he would not sign a deal to keep the government open.
-
And when you need tickets at the last minute, game time is where to get them.
-
"We're all used to things with the federal government being changed at the last minute," he says.
Academic text (2016) -
Sometimes people pull out at the last minute, just like that.
Fiction book (1991) -
However, the new president decided at the last minute to send a small delegation.
Academic text (1994) -
Jason decides at the last minute not to attend and to stay home.
Academic text (2009) -
It was canceled at the last minute.
-
Yancie felt it was unfair to her mentor to receive assignments at the last minute.
Academic text (2012) -
I often make changes to my presentation at the last minute before delivering it.
Synonyms
240
1.9
The latest time before something must happen
167
3.5
At the last moment before it is too late
14
3.5
Just before it is too late
6
5.2
The latest possible time before a deadline or event
3
4.5
The last moment before a deadline when it is almost too late
2
6.2
At the last moment before time runs out
Antonyms
How Late
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from common words: 'last' (at the end) + 'minute' (a short time) with the preposition 'at' marking time, so 'at the last minute' literally denotes the final moment before a deadline. This temporal, compositional pattern is common across many languages (e.g. Spanish 'en el último minuto', French 'à la dernière minute') and follows standard English grammar, making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
At the last minute paints a picture of a clock showing the final minute before time runs out. So, if you do something at the last minute, you do it 'just before the latest possible time'.