swan song
noun
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Swans don't sing. They whistle or trumpet, or in the case of the swan most common in ponds, the mute swan, they only hiss and snort. But according to ancient legend, the swan does sing one beautiful song in its life-just before it dies. References in English to the dying swan's lovely singing go back as far as Chaucer, but the term swan song itself didn't appear in the language until the 1830s, when Thomas Carlyle used it in Sartor Resartus. Carlyle probably based his "swan song" on the German version of the term, which is Schwanengesang or Schwanenlied.
Examples of swan song in a Sentence
Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 June 2024
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, defender Nicolás Otamendi, midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández, and attacker Ángel Di María — who, unlike Messi, has confirmed this will be his international swan song — are among the World Cup standouts still in the squad.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 14 June 2024
If Larry David’s other long-running creation, Seinfeld, was the popular peak of American Jewish comedy, Curb is its beautiful swan song.
—P.e. Moskowitz, Vulture, 5 Apr. 2024
The best in the world, headed toward what was meant to be his Olympic swan song.
—SELF, 11 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for swan song 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swan song.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near swan song
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“Swan song.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swan%20song. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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