View synonyms for end

end

[ end ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the last part or extremity, lengthwise, of anything that is longer than it is wide or broad:
the end of a street;
the end of a rope.
a point, line, or limitation that indicates the full extent, degree, etc., of something; limit; bounds:
kindness without end;
to walk from end to end of a city.
a part or place at or adjacent to an extremity: the west end of town.
at the end of the table;
the west end of town.
the furthermost imaginable place or point:
an island at the very end of the world.
Synonyms: terminus, boundary, extremity
termination; conclusion:
The journey was coming to an end.
the concluding part:
The end of her speech had to be cut short because of time.
an intention or aim:
to gain one's ends.
the object for which a thing exists; purpose:
The happiness of the people is the end of government.
an outcome or result:
What is to be the end of all this bickering?
termination of existence; death:
He met a horrible end.
a cause of death, destruction, or ruin:
Another war would be the end of civilization.
a remnant or fragment: ends and trimmings.
mill end;
ends and trimmings.
a share or part in something:
He does his end of the job very well.
Textiles. a warp thread running vertically and interlaced with the filling yarn in the woven fabric.
Football.
1. either of the linemen: stationed farthest from the center.
2. the position played by this lineman.
Archery. the number of arrows to be shot by a competitor during one turn in a match.
Cricket. a wicket, especially the one where the batsman is taking a turn.
a unit of a game, as in curling or lawn bowling.
Kantianism. any rational being, regarded as worthy to exist for its own sake.
either half of a domino.
Knots. the part of a rope, beyond a knot or the like, that is not used.
the end, Slang. the ultimate; the utmost of good or bad:
His stupidity is the end.

verb (used with object)

to bring to an end or conclusion:
We ended the discussion on a note of optimism.
to put an end to; terminate:
This was the battle that ended the war.
to form the end of:
This passage ends the novel.
to cause the demise of; kill:
A bullet through the heart ended him.
to constitute the most outstanding or greatest possible example or instance of (usually used in the infinitive):
You just committed the blunder to end all blunders.

verb (used without object)

to come to an end; terminate; cease:
The road ends at Rome.
to issue or result:
Extravagance ends in want.
to reach or arrive at a final condition, circumstance, or goal (often followed by up ): to end as a happy person.
to end up in the army;
to end as a happy person.

adjective

final or ultimate:
the end result.

end

[ end ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

, British Dialect.

to put wheat, hay, or other grain into a stack or barn.

end-

variant of endo- before a vowel:
endameba.

end.

⁴

abbreviation for

endorsed.

-end

suffix forming nouns

See -and
See -and

end-

combining_form

See endo-
a variant of endo-

end

/ ɛnd /

noun

the extremity of the length of something, such as a road, line, etc
the surface at either extremity of a three-dimensional object
the extreme extent, limit, or degree of something
the most distant place or time that can be imagined
the ends of the earth
the time at which something is concluded
1. the last section or part
2. ( as modifier ) finalterminalultimate
  the end office
a share or part
his end of the bargain
often plural a remnant or fragment (esp in the phrase odds and ends )
a final state, esp death; destruction
the purpose of an action or existence
sport either of the two defended areas of a playing field, rink, etc
bowls curling a section of play from one side of the rink to the other
American football a player at the extremity of the playing line; wing
all ends up
all ends up totally or completely
a sticky end informal.
a sticky end an unpleasant death
at a loose end
at a loose endat loose ends without purpose or occupation
at an end
at an end exhausted or completed
See day
at the end of the day
at the end of the day See day
come to an end
come to an end to become completed or exhausted
end on
end on
1. with the end pointing towards one
2. with the end adjacent to the end of another object
go off the deep end informal.
go off the deep end to lose one's temper; react angrily
get one's end away slang.
get one's end away to have sexual intercourse
in the end
in the end finally
keep one's end up
keep one's end up
1. to sustain one's part in a joint enterprise
2. to hold one's own in an argument, contest, etc
make ends meet
make ends meetmake both ends meet to spend no more than the money one has
no end informal.
no endno end of (intensifier)
I had no end of work
on end
on end
1. upright
2. without pause or interruption
the end informal.
the end
1. the worst, esp something that goes beyond the limits of endurance
2. the best in quality
the end of the road
the end of the road the point beyond which survival or continuation is impossible
throw someone in at the deep end
throw someone in at the deep end to put someone into a new situation, job, etc, without preparation or introduction

verb

to bring or come to a finish; conclude
to die or cause to die
tr to surpass; outdo
a novel to end all novels
end it all informal.
end it all to commit suicide

end

⁴

/ ɛnd /

verb

tr to put (hay or grain) into a barn or stack

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Derived Forms

ˈender, noun

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Other Words From

end·er noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of end¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English ende; cognate with Old Frisian enda, Middle Dutch e(i)nde, Old Saxon endi, Old High German anti, German Ende, Old Norse endi(r), Gothic andeis “end,” from unattested Germanic anthjá-; akin to Sanskrit ánta- “end”

Origin of end²

First recorded in 1610–20; perhaps variant of dialect in “to harvest,” from Old English innian “to lodge, put up”; inn

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Word History and Origins

Origin of end¹

Old English ende; related to Old Norse endir, Gothic andeis, Old High German endi, Latin antiae forelocks, Sanskrit antya last

Origin of end²

Old English innian ; related to Old High German innōn; see inn

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

at loose ends, without an occupation or plans; unsettled; uncertain:
He spent two years wandering about the country at loose ends.
at one's wit's end, at the end of one's ideas or mental resources; perplexed: Also at one's wits' end.
I'm at my wit's end with this problem.
end for end, in reverse position; inverted:
The cartons were turned end for end.
end on, with the end next to or facing:
He backed the truck until it was end on with the loading platform.
end to end, in a row with ends touching:
The pipes were placed end to end on the ground.
go off the deep end, Informal. to act in a reckless or agitated manner; lose emotional control:
She went off the deep end when she lost her job.
in the end, finally; after all:
In the end they shook hands and made up.
keep / hold one's end up, to perform one's part or share adequately:
The work is demanding, but he's holding his end up.
make an end of, to conclude; stop:
Let's make an end of this foolishness and get down to work.
make ends meet, to live within one's means: Also make both ends meet.
Despite her meager income, she tried to make ends meet.
no end, Informal. very much or many:
They were pleased no end by the warm reception.
on end,
1. having the end down; upright:
  to stand a box on end.
2. continuously; successively:
  They talked for hours on end.
put an end to, to cause to stop; terminate; finish:
The advent of sound in motion pictures put an end to many a silent star's career.
at the end of the day. at the end of the day ( def ).

More idioms and phrases containing end

all's well that ends well
at loose ends
at one's wit's end
be-all and end-all
beginning of the end
bitter end
burn the candle at both ends
can't see beyond the end of one's nose
come to an end
dead end
go off the deep end
hair stand on end
hold one's end up
in the end
light at the end of the tunnel
make ends meet
never hear the end of
odds and ends
on end
on the receiving end
play both ends against the middle
put an end to
rear end
short end (of the stick)
tail end
wrong end of the stick

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Synonym Study

End, close, conclusion, finish, outcome refer to the termination of something. End implies a natural termination or completion, or an attainment of purpose: the end of a day, of a race; to some good end. Close often implies a planned rounding off of something in process: the close of a conference. Conclusion suggests a decision or arrangement: All evidence leads to this conclusion; the conclusion of peace terms. Finish emphasizes completion of something begun: a fight to the finish. Outcome suggests the issue of something that was in doubt: the outcome of a game. See aim.

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Example Sentences

Yet this, in the end, is a book from which one emerges sad, gloomy, disenchanted, at least if we agree to take it seriously.

From The Daily Beast

In the end, the clarity that comes from moments of horror can help us recommit to deeper principles.

From The Daily Beast

In the end, I find it never fails to modernize even the most dramatic things.

From The Daily Beast

Kennedy: "Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind."

From The Daily Beast

This reporter knocked at the Wilkins home on Tuesday morning but received neither an answer nor the business end of a shotgun.

From The Daily Beast

I presume the twenty-five or thirty miles at this end is unhealthy, even for natives, but it surely need not be so.

From Project Gutenberg

On to Gaba Tepe just in time to see the opening, the climax and the end of the dreaded Turkish counter attack.

From Project Gutenberg

He wanted to tell her that if she called her father, it would mean the end of everything for them, but he withheld this.

From Project Gutenberg

Under the internal pressure his whiskers stood on end and his face grew red.

From Project Gutenberg

She stood, in her young purity, at one end of the chain of years, and Mrs. Chepstow—did she really stand at the other?

From Project Gutenberg

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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