dead last

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Adjective

dead last (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Finishing in last place in a competition or ranking, often by a considerable margin to the next-to-last-place finisher or after an exceptionally poor showing or season.

   That high-school football team only scored 18 points all year! No wonder they were dead last in the league.

   • 2008 October, Mark Jenkins, “Need surgery? Call a travel agent”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 152:

     And compared with Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and 14 European countries, the United States ranks dead last, with the highest death rate for people under age 75 from conditions that could have been treated or prevented with timely medical care.

Translations

finishing last

• Finnish: vihonviimeinen
• Japanese: どべ, ドベ