last mile

American

noun

the distance walked by a condemned person from their cell to the place of execution.

last mile Cultural

The phrase used to describe one of the problems in attaining higher-speed, higher-capacity information flow to every household. It refers to the copper telephone wire that still carries information to households. The limited capacity of the wire slows data transmission even though it is possible to send data over high-capacity systems from anywhere in the world to within the “the last mile” (give or take) before the house. The use of cable technology, fiber optic technology, and wireless satellite technology are several of the solutions used to address this problem.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And for the Federal Reserve, getting the last mile wrong would carry costs that extend well beyond one official’s tenure.

From Barron's

“As we approach the last mile of the integration, I am confident in our ability to capture the remaining synergies by the end of the year,” UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I think of these cuts as having taken out some insurance to support the labor market as we work to complete the last mile to bring inflation back to target,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the last mile of inflation has proved difficult.

From MarketWatch

If this drift continues, the Fed may find that the last mile of disinflation is not just difficult, but unreachable.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023