eleventh hour

noun

Definition of eleventh hournext
as in crisis
the latest possible time The killer's life was spared at the eleventh hour.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of eleventh hour Getting to public company standards at the eleventh hour is no longer enough. — Brian Waller, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Hayes knows, in soccer, anything can happen; an injury could sideline any team’s biggest star at the eleventh hour. — Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 20 July 2026 And the dysfunction is already jeopardizing other pressing legislative business in the eleventh hour of the 119th Congress, including bipartisan priorities and crucial government funding bills relied on by many Americans. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 16 July 2026 Honda was planning on building its new Zero Series family of EVs in Ohio before pulling the plug on the program at the eleventh hour. — Joel Feder, The Drive, 24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for eleventh hour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eleventh hour
  1. crisis
  2. emergency
  3. extremity
  4. possibility
  5. climax
  6. situation
  7. zero hour
  8. landmark
Noun
  • Advertisement The protests are also occurring amid a wider crisis of political confidence in the country.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The agency, created in 1974 in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, is tasked with maintaining energy security by deploying oil stockpiles in response to crises like the wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of crisis
Noun
  • An emergency program was followed by an initial slowdown in new cases after almost 20 million children received a vaccination in April and May.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • In Indiana, emergency-response professionals helped expand Stop the Bleed training in schools, and the state’s Secured School Safety Grant program now offers funding for school bleeding-control programs and kits.
    — Meng Yang, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of emergency
Noun
  • The driver then reversed, freeing the man, who suffered severe injuries to his lower extremities.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The man had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his extremities, including his arms and legs.
    — Ricky Sayer, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of extremity
Noun
  • More than a splash of color Perhaps the more interesting possibility lies beyond multi-color printing altogether.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Major cringe, on the other hand, navigates the aesthetic affect critically and formally to induce it—viscerally exploiting its possibilities.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of possibility
Noun
  • The climax of Lukas Moodysson’s A Hole in My Heart (2004), where Geko vomits into Tess’s open mouth?
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Few scenes articulate that difference in social standing better than the ball that takes place at the climax of the film.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of climax
Noun
  • The security situation in southern Lebanon has worsened substantially since then, with the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in March.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Hailey, who was sitting and listening, likens their situations.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of situation
Noun
  • Nevertheless, this is an improvement on the zero hours that (many) men were doing 50 years ago.
    — Meg Walters, Glamour, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The King video marked the zero hour for new forms of activism using cameras.
    — Will Potter July 7, Literary Hub, 7 July 2025
Definition of zero hour
Noun
  • A couple of Frisco landmarks appear in the teaser like the city’s water tower and the Sandman Signature Plano-Frisco Hotel.
    — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The Fifth Avenue hotel, which has stood for more than 119 years, will close for at least four years beginning next January to restore the 18-story building's landmark facade, according to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, the operator of the Plaza.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of landmark

Browse Nearby Words

elevations
eleventh hour
eleventh hours
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Cite this Entry

“Eleventh hour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eleventh%20hour. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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