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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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