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LAST WORD
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Elegance by virtue of being fashionable
Synonyms:
chic; chichi; chicness; last word; modishness; smartness; stylishness; swank
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("last word" is a kind of...):
elegance (a refined quality of gracefulness and good taste)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "last word"):
dapperness; jauntiness; nattiness; rakishness (stylishness as evidenced by a smart appearance)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An authoritative statement
Example:
my doctor has the last word on the medicines I take
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("last word" is a kind of...):
authority (an authoritative written work)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The final statement in a verbal argument
Example:
she always gets the last word
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("last word" is a kind of...):
argument; statement (a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true)
Context examples:
But it was destined that I should after all have a last word of greeting from my friend and comrade.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"You ketch um dog you take um all right," was his last word.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Pray, Emma, said he, may I ask in what lay the great amusement, the poignant sting of the last word given to you and Miss Fairfax?
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
As to Holmes, he returned refreshed to his monograph upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus, which has since been printed for private circulation, and is said by experts to be the last word upon the subject.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It was in a way akin to that common habit of men and women troubled by real or fancied grievances, who periodically and volubly break their long-suffering silence and have their say till the last word is said.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
That lucid and admirable statement seems to be the last word in the matter.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It was Wolf Larsen’s last word, “bosh,” sceptical and invincible to the end.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
And lest you should take it into that head of yours, he went on, that you was included in the treaty, here's the last word that was said: 'How many are you,' says I, 'to leave?'
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
They had laughed over that last word as if the idea it suggested was a most preposterous one, but they had held to their resolve, and whenever they could get on without help they did so, and no one interfered, for Mrs. March had advised the plan.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
And as for me—the poor string upon which these beads are strung—I dare scarce say another word about myself, lest this, which I had meant to be the last word of a chapter, should grow into the first words of a new one.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
