idiom · neutral
be on one's last legs
UK/bi ɒn wʌnz lɑːst lɛgz/US/bi ɑn wʌnz læst lɛgz/be·on·one's·LAST·LEGS
speakingtask2
to be near the end of useful life (for objects) or extremely tired/weak (for people)
Examples
“My old laptop is on its last legs; it crashes every day.”
“After running the marathon he was on his last legs.”
“The car is on its last legs and needs replacing.”
Band 8 sentence
“After years of heavy use the photocopier was on its last legs, so the university replaced it.”
Collocations
- be on its last legs
- be on one's last legs after
Word family
on its last legs idiom (object)was on his/her last legs verb phrase (past)
Common mistakes
be in last legs→be on one's last legs
on the last legs→on one's last legs
Say it for a higher band
5very tired→6worn out→7+be on one's last legs
Synonyms
worn out
near collapse
Easily confused
run out of steam
“By mile 20, many runners had run out of steam.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Hardship
Learn it with its set