end

1
[ end ]
See synonyms for end on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  1. a part or place at or adjacent to an extremity: at the end of the table;the west end of town.

  2. the furthermost imaginable place or point: an island at the very end of the world.

  3. termination; conclusion: The journey was coming to an end.

  4. the concluding part: The end of her speech had to be cut short because of time.

  5. an intention or aim: to gain one's ends.

  6. the object for which a thing exists; purpose: The happiness of the people is the end of government.

  7. an outcome or result: What is to be the end of all this bickering?

  8. termination of existence; death: He met a horrible end.

  9. a cause of death, destruction, or ruin: Another war would be the end of civilization.

  10. a remnant or fragment: mill end;ends and trimmings.

  11. a share or part in something: He does his end of the job very well.

  12. Textiles. a warp thread running vertically and interlaced with the filling yarn in the woven fabric.

  13. Football.

    • either of the linemen: stationed farthest from the center.

    • the position played by this lineman.

  14. Archery. the number of arrows to be shot by a competitor during one turn in a match.

  15. Cricket. a wicket, especially the one where the batsman is taking a turn.

  16. a unit of a game, as in curling or lawn bowling.

  17. Kantianism. any rational being, regarded as worthy to exist for its own sake.

  18. either half of a domino.

  19. Knots. the part of a rope, beyond a knot or the like, that is not used.

  20. the end, Slang. the ultimate; the utmost of good or bad: His stupidity is the end.

verb (used with object)
  1. to bring to an end or conclusion: We ended the discussion on a note of optimism.

  2. to put an end to; terminate: This was the battle that ended the war.

  1. to form the end of: This passage ends the novel.

  2. to cause the demise of; kill: A bullet through the heart ended him.

  3. 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)
  1. to come to an end; terminate; cease: The road ends at Rome.

  2. to issue or result: Extravagance ends in want.

  1. to reach or arrive at a final condition, circumstance, or goal (often followed by up): to end up in the army;to end as a happy person.

adjective
  1. final or ultimate: the end result.

Idioms about end

  1. at loose ends, without an occupation or plans; unsettled; uncertain: He spent two years wandering about the country at loose ends.

  2. at one's wit's end, at the end of one's ideas or mental resources; perplexed: I'm at my wit's end with this problem.: Also at one's wits' end.

  1. at the end of the day. See entry at at the end of the day.

  2. end for end, in reverse position; inverted: The cartons were turned end for end.

  3. end on, with the end next to or facing: He backed the truck until it was end on with the loading platform.

  4. end to end, in a row with ends touching: The pipes were placed end to end on the ground.

  5. 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.

  6. in the end, finally; after all: In the end they shook hands and made up.

  7. 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.

  8. make an end of, to conclude; stop: Let's make an end of this foolishness and get down to work.

  9. make ends meet, to live within one's means: Despite her meager income, she tried to make ends meet.: Also make both ends meet.

  10. no end, Informal. very much or many: They were pleased no end by the warm reception.

  11. on end,

    • having the end down; upright: to stand a box on end.

    • continuously; successively: They talked for hours on end.

  12. 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.

Origin of end

1
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”

synonym study For end

5. 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. 7. See aim.

Other words for end

Other words from end

  • end·er, noun

Other definitions for end (2 of 4)

end2
[ end ]

verb (used with object)British Dialect.
  1. to put wheat, hay, or other grain into a stack or barn.

Origin of end

2
First recorded in 1610–20; perhaps variant of dialect in “to harvest,” from Old English innian “to lodge, put up”; see inn

Other definitions for end- (3 of 4)

end-

  1. variant of endo- before a vowel: endameba.

Other definitions for end. (4 of 4)

end.

abbreviation
  1. endorsed.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use end in a sentence

  • The only feature Week-end-on-Sea will have in common with other seaside places is a parade.

  • The weight against it is resisted both by the end-on poles that are parallel to the flow and by those set at an angle to it.

    In Beaver World | Enos Abijah Mills
  • When they were in a position to make for the steamer, the order was given to “back all oars and keep her end-on to the sea.”

    Battles with the Sea | R.M. Ballantyne
  • The boat must be made to cut the breakers end-on, so as to prevent her turning broadside on and being rolled back on the beach.

    Battles with the Sea | R.M. Ballantyne
  • The principle that the refrangibility of light is altered by end-on motion was enunciated by Christian Doppler of Prague in 1842.

British Dictionary definitions for end (1 of 4)

end1

/ (ɛnd) /


noun
  1. the extremity of the length of something, such as a road, line, etc

  2. the surface at either extremity of a three-dimensional object

  1. the extreme extent, limit, or degree of something

  2. the most distant place or time that can be imagined: the ends of the earth

  3. the time at which something is concluded

    • the last section or part

    • (as modifier): the end office Related adjectives: final, terminal, ultimate

  4. a share or part: his end of the bargain

  5. (often plural) a remnant or fragment (esp in the phrase odds and ends)

  6. a final state, esp death; destruction

  7. the purpose of an action or existence

  8. sport either of the two defended areas of a playing field, rink, etc

  9. bowls curling a section of play from one side of the rink to the other

  10. American football a player at the extremity of the playing line; wing

  11. all ends up totally or completely

  12. a sticky end informal, US and Canadian an unpleasant death

  13. at a loose end or US and Canadian at loose ends without purpose or occupation

  14. at an end exhausted or completed

  15. at the end of the day See day (def. 10)

  16. come to an end to become completed or exhausted

  17. end on

    • with the end pointing towards one

    • with the end adjacent to the end of another object

  18. go off the deep end informal to lose one's temper; react angrily

  19. get one's end away slang to have sexual intercourse

  20. in the end finally

  21. keep one's end up

    • to sustain one's part in a joint enterprise

    • to hold one's own in an argument, contest, etc

  22. make ends meet or make both ends meet to spend no more than the money one has

  23. no end or no end of informal (intensifier): I had no end of work

  24. on end

    • upright

    • without pause or interruption

  25. the end informal

    • the worst, esp something that goes beyond the limits of endurance

    • mainly US the best in quality

  26. the end of the road the point beyond which survival or continuation is impossible

  27. throw someone in at the deep end to put someone into a new situation, job, etc, without preparation or introduction

verb
  1. to bring or come to a finish; conclude

  2. to die or cause to die

  1. (tr) to surpass; outdo: a novel to end all novels

  2. end it all informal to commit suicide

Origin of end

1
Old English ende; related to Old Norse endir, Gothic andeis, Old High German endi, Latin antiae forelocks, Sanskrit antya last

Derived forms of end

  • ender, noun

British Dictionary definitions for end (2 of 4)

end2

/ (ɛnd) /


verb
  1. (tr) British to put (hay or grain) into a barn or stack

Origin of end

2
Old English innian; related to Old High German innōn; see inn

British Dictionary definitions for end- (3 of 4)

end-

combining form
  1. a variant of endo-

British Dictionary definitions for -end (4 of 4)

-end

suffix forming nouns
  1. See -and

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with end

end

In addition to the idioms beginning with end

  • end game
  • end in itself
  • end justifies the means, the
  • end of one's rope, at the
  • end of the line
  • end run
  • ends of the earth, the
  • end to end
  • end up

also see:

  • 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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.