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Last[expr]

gives the last element in expr.

Last[expr,def]

gives the last element if there are any elements, or def otherwise.

Details
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Basic Examples  
Generalizations & Extensions  
Properties & Relations  
Possible Issues  
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Last

Last[expr]

gives the last element in expr.

Last[expr,def]

gives the last element if there are any elements, or def otherwise.

Details

  • Last[expr] is equivalent to expr[[-1]].
  • Last has attribute HoldRest. In Last[expr,def], def is evaluated only if it is to be returned.

Examples

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Basic Examples  (5)

Extract the last element of a list:

Wolfram Language code: Last[{a, b, c}]

Extract the last row of a matrix:

Wolfram Language code: Last[{{a, b}, {c, d}, {e, f}}]

Extract the last element of an association:

Wolfram Language code: Last[<|1 -> a, 2 -> b|>]

The head need not be List:

Wolfram Language code: Last[a ^ 2 + b ^ 2]

Return x if there are zero elements:

Wolfram Language code: Last[{}, x]
Wolfram Language code: Last[{a, b}, x]

Generalizations & Extensions  (1)

Last works on SparseArray objects:

Wolfram Language code: Last[SparseArray[Range[100]]]

Properties & Relations  (1)

Last[expr] is equivalent to expr[[-1]]:

Wolfram Language code: Last[{a, b, c}]
Wolfram Language code: {a, b, c}[[-1]]

Possible Issues  (2)

The expression is evaluated before Last is applied:

Wolfram Language code: Last[b ^ 2 + a ^ 2]

Last always operates on the FullForm of expressions:

Wolfram Language code: Last[1 / b]
Wolfram Language code: FullForm[1 / b]
Wolfram Research (1988), Last, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html (updated 2015).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), Last, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html (updated 2015).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "Last." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2015. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). Last. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2026_last, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Last}", year="2015", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html}", note=[Accessed: 12-June-2026]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2026_last, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Last}, year={2015}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html}, note=[Accessed: 12-June-2026]}