Last vs. Next — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Last and Next
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Compare with Definitions
Last
A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes.
Next
Nearest in space or position; adjacent
The next room.
Last
Being, coming, or placed after all others; final
The last game of the season.
Next
Immediately following, as in time, order, or sequence
Next week.
The next item on the list.
Last
Being the only one left
His last nickel.
As a last resort.
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Next
In the time, order, or place nearest or immediately following
Reading this book next.
Our next oldest child.
Last
Just past; most recent
Last year.
The last time I checked.
Next
On the first subsequent occasion
When next I write.
Last
Most up-to-date; newest
The last thing in swimwear.
Next
The next person or thing
The next will be better.
Last
Highest in extent or degree; utmost
To the last measure of human endurance.
Next
In place or position, having nothing similar intervening; adjoining.
The man in the next bunk kept me awake all night with his snoring.
She lives a mile or two away, in the next village.
Last
Most valid, authoritative, or conclusive
The arbiter will have the last say in resolving this dispute.
Next
(obsolete) Most direct, or shortest or nearest in distance or time.
Last
Least likely or expected
The last person we would have suspected.
Next
Nearest in order, succession, or rank; immediately following (or sometimes preceding) in order.
Please turn to the next page.
On Wednesday next, I'm going to Spain.
The next chapter; the next week; the Sunday next before Easter
The man was driven by his love for money and his desire to become the next Bill Gates.
Last
The least desirable or suitable
The last man for the job.
Next
Nearest in relationship. next of kin.}}
Next friend
Last
Being the latest possible
Waited until the last second before boarding the train.
Next
Denotes the one immediately following the current or most recent one.
Next week would be a good time to meet.
I'll know better next time.
Last
Lowest in rank or importance
Last prize.
Last place.
Next
(of days of the week or months of the year) Closest in the future, or closest but one if the closest is very soon; of days, sometimes thought to specifically refer to the instance closest to seven days (one week) in the future.
The party is next Tuesday; that is, not tomorrow, but eight days from now.
When you say next Thursday, do you mean Thursday this week or Thursday next week?
Last
Used as an intensive
Every last dollar was donated to charity.
Next
In a time, place, rank or sequence closest or following.
They live in the next closest house.
It's the next best thing to ice cream.
Last
Of or relating to a terminal period or stage, as of life
The last days of the dinosaurs.
Next
(conjunctive) So as to follow in time or sequence something previously mentioned.
First we removed all the handles; next, we stripped off the old paint.
Last
Administered just before death
The last sacraments.
Next
On the first subsequent occasion.
Financial panic, earthquakes, oil spills, riots. What comes next?
When we next meet, you'll be married.
Last
After all others in chronology or sequence
Arrived last.
Next
On the side of; nearest or adjacent to; next to.
Last
Most recently
A fashion last popular in the 1940s.
Next
The one that follows after this one.
Next, please, don't hold up the queue!
One moment she was there, the next she wasn't.
The week after next
Last
At the end; finally
Add the butter last.
Next
Nearest in place; having no similar object intervening.
Her princely guestWas next her side; in order sat the rest.
Fear followed me so hard, that I fled the next way.
Last
One that is at the end or last
The last to be chosen.
On every page but the last.
Next
Nearest in time; as, the next day or hour.
Last
The end
Held out until the last.
Next
Adjoining in a series; immediately preceding or following in order.
None could tell whose turn should be the next.
Last
The final mention or appearance
Haven't seen the last of our troubles.
Next
Nearest in degree, quality, rank, right, or relation; as, the next heir was an infant.
The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
Last
A block or form shaped like a human foot and used in making or repairing shoes.
Next
In the time, place, or order nearest or immediately succeeding; as, this man follows next.
Last
A unit of volume or weight varying for different commodities and in different districts, equal to about 80 bushels, 640 gallons, or 2 tons.
Next
Nearest in space or position; immediately adjoining without intervening space;
Had adjacent rooms
In the next room
The person sitting next to me
Our rooms were side by side
Last
To continue in time; go on
The war lasted four years.
Next
(of elected officers) elected but not yet serving;
Our next president
Last
To continue; survive
The patient is not expected to last much longer.
Next
Immediately following in time or order;
The following day
Next in line
The next president
The next item on the list
Last
To remain in good or usable condition
Produce lasts longer if it is refrigerated. I wanted a car that would last.
Next
At the time or occasion immediately following;
Next the doctor examined his back
Last
To continue in force or practice
Wondered if the marriage would last.
Last
To remain in adequate supply
Will our water last?.
Last
To keep adequately supplied
Left enough bread to last the family for the weekend.
Last
To persist or endure for the entire length of; survive
Hoped to last the season without injuring her leg again.
Last
To mold or shape on a last.
Last
Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind.
“Eyes Wide Shut” was the last film to be directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Last
Most recent, latest, last so far.
The last time I saw him, he was married.
I have received your note dated the 17th last, and am responding to say that...}}.
Last
Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely, or least preferable.
He is the last person to be accused of theft.
The last person I want to meet is Helen.
More rain is the last thing we need right now.
Last
Being the only one remaining of its class.
Japan is the last empire.
Last
Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.
Last
Lowest in rank or degree.
The last prize
Last
The (one) immediately before the present.
We went there last year.
I was last to arrive.
Last
(of days of the week or months of the year) Closest in the past, or closest but one if the closest was very recent; of days, sometimes thought to specifically refer to the instance closest to seven days (one week) ago, or the most recent instance before seven days (one week) ago.
It's Wednesday, and the party was last Tuesday; that is, not yesterday, but eight days ago.
When you say last Monday, do you mean the Monday just gone, or the one before that?
Last
Most recently.
When we last met, he was based in Toronto.
Last
(sequence) after everything else; finally
I'll go last as I have to add the butter last.
Last but not least
Last
To perform, carry out.
Last
(intransitive) To endure, continue over time.
Summer seems to last longer each year.
They seem happy now, but that won't last long.
Last
(intransitive) To hold out, continue undefeated or entire.
I don't know how much longer we can last without reinforcements.
Last
To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last.
To last a boot
Last
A tool for shaping or preserving the shape of shoes.
Last
(obsolete) A burden; load; a cargo; freight.
Last
(obsolete) A measure of weight or quantity, varying in designation depending on the goods concerned.
Last
(obsolete) An old English (and Dutch) measure of the carrying capacity of a ship, equal to two tons.
Last
A load of some commodity with reference to its weight and commercial value.
Last
Of Last, to endure, contracted from lasteth.
Last
Being after all the others, similarly classed or considered, in time, place, or order of succession; following all the rest; final; hindmost; farthest; as, the last year of a century; the last man in a line of soldiers; the last page in a book; his last chance.
Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God.
Fairest of stars, last in the train of night.
Last
Next before the present; as, I saw him last week.
Last
Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.
Contending for principles of the last importance.
Last
Lowest in rank or degree; as, the a last place finish.
Last
Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely; having least fitness; as, he is the last person to be accused of theft.
And blunder on in business to the last.
Last
At a time or on an occasion which is the latest of all those spoken of or which have occurred; the last time; as, I saw him last in New York.
Last
In conclusion; finally; lastly.
Pleased with his idol, he commends, admires,Adores; and, last, the thing adored desires.
Last
At a time next preceding the present time.
How long is't now since last yourself and IWere in a mask ?
Last
To continue in time; to endure; to remain in existence.
[I] proffered me to be slave in all that she me would ordain while my life lasted.
Last
To endure use, or continue in existence, without impairment or exhaustion; as, this cloth lasts better than that; the fuel will last through the winter.
Last
To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last; as, to last a boot.
Last
A wooden block shaped like the human foot, on which boots and shoes are formed.
The cobbler is not to go beyond his last.
Last
A load; a heavy burden; hence, a certain weight or measure, generally estimated at 4,000 lbs., but varying for different articles and in different countries. In England, a last of codfish, white herrings, meal, or ashes, is twelve barrels; a last of corn, ten quarters, or eighty bushels, in some parts of England, twenty-one quarters; of gunpowder, twenty-four barrels, each containing 100 lbs; of red herrings, twenty cades, or 20,000; of hides, twelve dozen; of leather, twenty dickers; of pitch and tar, fourteen barrels; of wool, twelve sacks; of flax or feathers, 1,700 lbs.
Last
The burden of a ship; a cargo.
Last
The temporal end; the concluding time;
The stopping point of each round was signaled by a bell
The market was up at the finish
They were playing better at the close of the season
Last
The last or lowest in an ordering or series;
He was the last to leave
He finished an inglorious last
Last
A person's dying act; the last thing a person can do;
He breathed his last
Last
The time at which life ends; continuing until dead;
She stayed until his death
A struggle to the last
Last
A unit of weight equal to 4,000 pounds
Last
A unit of capacity for grain equal to 80 bushels
Last
The concluding parts of an event or occurrence;
The end was exciting
I had to miss the last of the movie
Last
Holding device shaped like a human foot that is used to fashion or repair shoes
Last
Persist or be long; in time;
The bad weather lasted for three days
Last
Continue to live; endure or last;
We went without water and food for 3 days
These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America
The racecar driver lived through several very serious accidents
Last
Immediately past;
Last Thursday
The last chapter we read
Last
Coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining;
The last time I saw Paris
The last day of the month
Had the last word
Waited until the last minute
He raised his voice in a last supreme call
The last game of the season
Down to his last nickel
Going from sitting to standing without intermediate pushes with the hands
Intermediate stages in a process
Intermediate stops on the route
An intermediate level
Last
Occurring at or forming an end or termination;
His concluding words came as a surprise
The final chapter
The last days of the dinosaurs
Terminal leave
Last
Conclusive in a process or progression;
The final answer
A last resort
The net result
Last
Most unlikely or unsuitable;
The last person we would have suspected
The last man they would have chosen for the job
Last
Occurring at the time of death;
His last words
The last rites
Last
Not to be altered or undone;
The judge's decision is final
The arbiter will have the last say
Last
Lowest in rank or importance;
Last prize
In last place
Last
Highest in extent or degree;
To the last measure of human endurance
Whether they were accomplices in the last degree or a lesser one was...to be determined individually
Last
In accord with the most fashionable ideas or style;
Wears only the latest style
The last thing in swimwear
Knows the newest dances
Cutting-edge technology
A with-it boutique
Last
More recently than any other time;
I saw him last in London
Last
The item at the end;
Last, I'll discuss family values
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