last-minute decision
2
3.5
- noun
:
decisión de última hora
- He made a last-minute decision to change his flight after hearing about the storm.
- make a last-minute decision
For some reason, I made a last minute decision to completely shave my face and also to give myself a buzz cut.
- For some reason, I made a last minute decision to completely shave my face and also to give myself a buzz cut.
Examples
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The Beirut stop was a last-minute decision taken by Hollande (left) to express solidarity with Lebanon (AFP, Bertrand Langlois).
Blog text (9) -
It was a last-minute decision—we got tickets a few days before from a broker via Craigslist.
Blog text (28) -
For some reason, I made a last minute decision to completely shave my face and also to give myself a buzz cut.
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I know I should have told you, but it was a last-minute decision.
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I had to make a last-minute decision.
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And in huge, exciting news, my brother made a very last-minute decision to join us on vacation!
Blog text (24) -
The vice president of the United States had made a last-minute decision to attend, which had thrown the security people into turmoil.
Fiction book (1990) -
When unexpected natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy, impact an employer's ability to operate business as usual, employers are faced with last-minute decisions to close all or part of their operations or otherwise modify work schedules.
Blog text (19) -
In the end, only one thing is certain: this election will be decided by a razor-thin margin, as undecided voters make last-minute decisions on whether to go with their gut or vote with their pocketbooks, possibly making up their minds as late as Election Day.
Blog text (21) -
I made a last-minute decision to switch up jerseys and put away the classic Adrian, Percy, or even Jared and rock my Antoine Winfield jersey.
Blog text (25)
Synonyms
A decision someone makes at the last possible moment before a deadline
A decision made at the very last moment as a desperate effort
Antonyms
How Last-Minute
Surface Forms
Morphology
last-minute + decision
The meaning 'a choice made at the latest possible time' is directly compositional from 'last-minute' (occurring at the final/very late time) modifying 'decision' (a choice). This adjective+noun compound follows a transparent, cross-linguistic logic and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Last-minute decision comes from the picture of making a choice in the last minute, like picking an answer as the clock shows one minute left. That's why it means 'a choice made at the latest possible time', often just before something is about to happen.