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Glite Dictionary
to last out

to last out

4 5.0
Continue to exist through a hard time until the end
  • phrasal verb
  • /læst aʊt/
translation icon : resistir
  • They managed to last out the difficult winter despite the harsh conditions.
  • how long will you last out
  • last five minutes out
  • last out another year

Examples

  • How long can he last out there?

    On the Beach (1959)

  • How long will you last out here in the elements?

    Fiction book (1999)

  • We'll have to last out the night right here.

    The Missing (2003)

  • If we can last out one more hour, we're safe.

    Slaughter High (1986)

  • He'll never last out there.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • How long do you think you'll last out there once the word gets out?

    Kiss of Death (1995)

  • And even then you wouldn't last out there more than two hours.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • You wouldn't last another hour out here.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Do you know how long we'd last out here without that raft?

    River of No Return (1954)

  • So no one was surprised when Odwin barely lasted out the season, packed his things, and left.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

to last
vsto last out
∞ 1.0

To continue for a period of time

adds the idea of enduring through a difficult period until the end
to outlive
vsto last out
61 3.4

Live longer than someone or something

stresses surviving a hard period instead of simply living longer than others
to outlast
vsto last out
32 4.4

Continue to exist longer than someone or something

focuses on surviving a difficult period rather than living longer than others
to ride out
vsto last out
20 5.3

To stay safe through a difficult or dangerous time

focuses on lasting through the ordeal until it finishes
to hold out
vsto last out
15 3.9

To last long enough when supplies or power are low

means surviving a hard time rather than just preserving usable condition
to outride
vsto last out
8.1

To survive a difficult time or problem

is about enduring through the whole difficult period until its end

Antonyms

to give up
∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

How Long

to outlast
32 4.4
to endure
304 3.5
to last out
4 5.0
to hold out
139 3.7
to hang on
  • Informal
111 3.4

Surface Forms

last out infinitive
lasted out past
lasted out past participle
lasting out present participle
lasts out third person singular

Morphology

last + out

The verb 'last' supplies the core meaning of 'endure', and the particle 'out' here contributes a sense of 'through to the end', so the overall meaning is partly compositional. However, the particle sense of 'out' ('to the end' or 'through') is less salient from the given spatial definition ('away from the interior'), so a B1 learner who only knows the basic spatial meaning of 'out' may not reliably infer the idiomatic phrasal-verb sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The verb last out may come from a simple picture: imagine a candle or a person that keeps burning or standing out until everything finishes, with last meaning to keep going and out meaning all the way to the end. So, to last out means 'to keep going or survive through a hard time until the end'.