die in the last ditch

To die after fighting valiantly until the end. None of our troops will desert us—they're loyal and willing to die in the last ditch. Sir, these people are desperate to keep their land—they'll die in the last ditch if they have to. Most people today are lazy cowards, unwilling to die in the last ditch even for things that are really important.

die in the last ditch

die desperately defending something; die fighting to the last extremity.

This expression comes from a remark attributed to King William III ( 1650–1702 ). Asked whether he did not see that his country was lost, he is said to have responded: ‘There is one way never to see it lost, and that is to die in the last ditch’. Last-ditch is often used as an adjective meaning ‘desperately resisting to the end’.