in the eleventh hour
Just before deadline
At the last possible moment, just before a deadline or when time has nearly run out.
The phrase suggests urgency and near-miss timing: The deal came together in the eleventh hour.
From the biblical parable of laborers hired late in the day who still received full wages.
Something done at the eleventh hour arrives when hope was fading but not yet lost.
- last-minuteJust before deadline
- zero hourScheduled start of action
- deadlineTime limit for completion
- time crunchInsufficient period remaining
- narrow escapeBarely avoiding disaster
last ditch effort · emergency · rush · stalling · crunch time · under the gun · race against time · beat the clock · hurry · ticking clock · down to the wire · final stretch · buzzer beater · photo finish · intervention · high stakes · panic · turning point
in the eleventh hourahead of time
Before something is due
early on · from the start · in good time · from the get-go · at the beginning
in the eleventh hourproactively
Acting before required
methodically · deliberately · systematically · punctually · preventatively