last gasp
Desperate dying effort
Last gasp refers to the final breath before death, and by extension, the very end of anything.
A last-gasp effort is a desperate final attempt when failure seems imminent: They scored a last-gasp goal to force overtime.
Something on its last gasp is nearly exhausted or about to fail: The old car was on its last gasp.
Desperately crucial situation
- eleventh-hourAt the latest possible moment
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- franticWildly anxious or desperate
- direExtremely serious or urgent
emergency · high-stakes · all-out · frenzied · desperation · brinkmanship · precipice · final stand
Dying person's resting place
- death rattleSound of expiring lungs
- final breathDying person's last exhale
- expirationEnd of validity
- passingMoving by or temporary
demise · fading · slipping away · terminal · end-of-life · mortal · extinction · quietus
Concluding effort toward goal
- struggleLabored effort against resistance
- strivingEarnest sustained endeavor
- rallyGathering for a cause
- surgeSudden powerful increase
second wind · dig deep · mustering · perseverance · tenacity · willpower · determination · fighting spirit
Concluding phase of competition
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- denouementStory's final unraveling
- curtain callPost-show audience acknowledgment
- closing actFinal scheduled performer
wrap-up · wind-down · epilogue · coda · terminus · sign-off · farewell · valediction
Exhausted or disbursed
- depletedSeverely reduced or emptied
- drainedEmptied of resources
- fumesAirborne chemical irritants
- windedShort of breath
breathless · worn-out · fatigued · running on empty · tapped out · burnt out · collapse · prostration
do-or-die
Desperately crucial situation
- eleventh-hourAt the latest possible moment
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- franticWildly anxious or desperate
dire · emergency · high-stakes · all-out · frenzied · desperation · brinkmanship · precipice · final stand · buzzer-beater
deathbed
Dying person's resting place
- death rattleSound of expiring lungs
- final breathDying person's last exhale
- expirationEnd of validity
passing · demise · fading · slipping away · terminal · end-of-life · mortal · extinction · quietus · curtains
final push
Concluding effort toward goal
- struggleLabored effort against resistance
- strivingEarnest sustained endeavor
- rallyGathering for a cause
surge · second wind · dig deep · mustering · perseverance · tenacity · willpower · determination · fighting spirit · grit
endgame
Concluding phase of competition
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- denouementStory's final unraveling
- curtain callPost-show audience acknowledgment
closing act · wrap-up · wind-down · epilogue · coda · terminus · sign-off · farewell · valediction · ending
spent
Exhausted or disbursed
winded · breathless · worn-out · fatigued · running on empty · tapped out · burnt out · collapse · prostration · enervated
- crunch timecrunch time, do or die, do-or-die, now or never, make or break
- close winsphoto finish, buzzer beater, squeaker, nail biter, close call
- declinedecline, in decline, decrease, downswing, on the decline
- doomdoomsday, impending doom, doom and gloom, doomed, sense of doom
- endingsending, the end, finish, close, final
- predicamentspredicament, dilemma, bind, pickle, pinch
last gaspfirst breath
Newborn's opening gasp
fresh start · beginning · inception · dawn · genesis
last gaspsecond wind
Renewed energy after fatigue
resurgence · prime · prime of life · peak · heyday
last gasplaunch
Set into motion
takeoff · grand opening · inauguration · momentum · full steam ahead