Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ul·ti·mate       (ŭl'tə-mĭt)  Pronunciation Key  adj.   Being last in a series, process, or progression: "As the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution, the Supreme Court occupies a central place in our scheme of government" (Richard A. Epstein). Fundamental; elemental: an ultimate truth. Of the greatest possible size or significance; maximum: Has the ultimate diamond been found? Representing or exhibiting the greatest possible development or sophistication: the ultimate bicycle. Utmost; extreme: the ultimate insult. Being most distant or remote; farthest. See Synonyms at last1. Eventual: hoped for ultimate victory. n.   The basic or fundamental fact, element, or principle. The final point; the conclusion. The greatest extreme; the maximum: actions that represented the ultimate in political expediency. [Latin ultimātus, past participle of ultimāre, to come to an end, from ultimus, last, superlative of *ulter, on the other side; see al-1 in Indo-European roots.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ultimate 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

ultimate
adjective
1.	furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme; "the ultimate achievement"; "the ultimate question"; "man's ultimate destiny"; "the ultimate insult"; "one's ultimate goal in life" [ant: proximate]
2.	being the last or concluding element of a series; "the ultimate sonata of that opus"; "a distinction between the verb and noun senses of 'conflict' is that in the verb the stress is on the ultimate (or last) syllable"
noun
1.	the finest or most superior quality of its kind; "the ultimate in luxury"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ultimate

A*nal"y*sis\, n.; pl. Analyses. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to unloose, to dissolve, to resolve into its elements; ? up + ? to loose. See Loose.]

1. A resolution of anything, whether an object of the senses or of the intellect, into its constituent or original elements; an examination of the component parts of a subject, each separately, as the words which compose a sentence, the tones of a tune, or the simple propositions which enter into an argument. It is opposed to synthesis.

2. (Chem.) The separation of a compound substance, by chemical processes, into its constituents, with a view to ascertain either (a) what elements it contains, or (b) how much of each element is present. The former is called qualitative, and the latter quantitative analysis.

3. (Logic) The tracing of things to their source, and the resolving of knowledge into its original principles.

4. (Math.) The resolving of problems by reducing the conditions that are in them to equations.

5. (a) A syllabus, or table of the principal heads of a discourse, disposed in their natural order. (b) A brief, methodical illustration of the principles of a science. In this sense it is nearly synonymous with synopsis.

6. (Nat. Hist.) The process of ascertaining the name of a species, or its place in a system of classification, by means of an analytical table or key.

Ultimate, Proximate, Qualitative, Quantitative, and Volumetric analysis. (Chem.) See under Ultimate, Proximate, Qualitative, etc.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ultimate

A*nal"y*sis\, n.; pl. Analyses. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to unloose, to dissolve, to resolve into its elements; ? up + ? to loose. See Loose.]

1. A resolution of anything, whether an object of the senses or of the intellect, into its constituent or original elements; an examination of the component parts of a subject, each separately, as the words which compose a sentence, the tones of a tune, or the simple propositions which enter into an argument. It is opposed to synthesis.

2. (Chem.) The separation of a compound substance, by chemical processes, into its constituents, with a view to ascertain either (a) what elements it contains, or (b) how much of each element is present. The former is called qualitative, and the latter quantitative analysis.

3. (Logic) The tracing of things to their source, and the resolving of knowledge into its original principles.

4. (Math.) The resolving of problems by reducing the conditions that are in them to equations.

5. (a) A syllabus, or table of the principal heads of a discourse, disposed in their natural order. (b) A brief, methodical illustration of the principles of a science. In this sense it is nearly synonymous with synopsis.

6. (Nat. Hist.) The process of ascertaining the name of a species, or its place in a system of classification, by means of an analytical table or key.

Ultimate, Proximate, Qualitative, Quantitative, and Volumetric analysis. (Chem.) See under Ultimate, Proximate, Qualitative, etc.