at the eleventh hour
/ət ði ɪˌlevənθ ˈaʊə/NEUTRAL · C1
Meaning
at the last possible moment before a deadline
Examples
- 1After weeks of silence, the venue confirmed our booking at the eleventh hour.
- 2We found a replacement speaker at the eleventh hour, just before the conference opened.
- 3The sponsor signed at the eleventh hour, minutes before the evening deadline expired.
- 4After months of refusing, the landlord agreed at the eleventh hour, just before we signed elsewhere.
- 5Our missing costumes turned up at the eleventh hour; the audience was already taking their seats.
Grammar
Use at before the eleventh hour. In this phrase, hour stays singular.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about time
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →around the clockcontinuously throughout the day and nightagainst the clockhurrying to finish before a deadlineat the crack of dawnvery early in the morning as daylight beginsin the long runeventually, when considering effects over a lengthy periodfor the time beingtemporarily, until the situation changesfrom time to timeoccasionally, without a regular pattern
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