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last-ditch

[last-dich, lahst-]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

done finally in desperation to avoid defeat, failure, disaster, etc..
a last-ditch attempt to avert war.
fought with every resource at one's command.
a last-ditch battle for the pennant.

last-ditch

noun

(modifier) made or done as a last desperate attempt or effort in the face of opposition

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Other Word Forms

last-ditcher noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of last-ditch¹

First recorded in 1905–10; last ¹ + ditch

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But it's become much more common in recent decades, in a last-ditch effort to save populations of black and white rhinos in South Africa and surrounding countries, where poaching threatens their survival.

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Was this a bid for regional relevance, a provocation timed with regional shifts, or a last-ditch effort to break a long-standing siege?

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Mrs McKay's grandson, Mark Dyer, told the BBC the family was inspired by the Mel Gibson movie Ransom to make a last-ditch attempt to solve the mystery.

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Liberty Steel is making a last-ditch attempt to save its plants in and around Rotherham and Sheffield from collapse.

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Sweetser: So basically, you know, to put things bluntly, that was like a last-ditch effort, really, to try to stop the direction the GOP was going.

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Related Words

do-or-die��
frantic��
last-gasp��

last-cyclic last-ditch effort

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