come in dead last

To reach the end of something, such as a race or other competition, in last place, especially by a wide margin. I didn't train at all for that marathon, so I guess it's no wonder I came in dead last. In a survey among consumers about which smartphone they would like, the new entry from PhonePro came in dead last. Of course you came in dead last at the Science Fair—it looks like you spent all of 10 minutes on your project!