final vs last

final

adj
  • Last; ultimate. 

  • Word-final; occurring at the end of a word. 

  • Respecting an end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view. 

  • Conclusive; decisive. 

  • Expressing purpose; as in the term final clause. 

noun
  • The last round, game or match in a contest, after which the winner is determined. 

  • A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class. 

  • A final examination taken at the end of the final year of an undergraduate course, which contributes towards a student's degree classification. 

  • The tonic or keynote of a Gregorian mode, and hence the final note of any conventional melody played in that mode. 

  • The final part of a syllable, the combination of medial and rime in phonetics and phonology. 

last

adj
  • Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind. 

  • Being the only one remaining of its class. 

  • Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely, or least preferable. 

  • Supreme; highest in degree; utmost. 

  • Lowest in rank or degree. 

  • Most recent, latest, last so far. 

verb
  • To hold out, continue undefeated or entire. 

  • To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last. 

  • To endure, continue over time. 

adv
  • Most recently. 

  • after everything else; finally 

noun
  • A tool for shaping or preserving the shape of shoes. 

  • A load of some commodity with reference to its weight and commercial value. 

det
  • The (one) immediately before the present. 

  • 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. 

How often have the words final and last occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )