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View synonyms for end

end

1

[ end ]

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.

  3. 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.

  4. the furthermost imaginable place or point:

    an island at the very end of the world.

    Synonyms: terminus, boundary, extremity

  5. The journey was coming to an end.

  6. the concluding part:

    The end of her speech had to be cut short because of time.

  7. an intention or aim:

    to gain one's ends.

  8. the object for which a thing exists; purpose:

    The happiness of the people is the end of government.

  9. an outcome or result:

    What is to be the end of all this bickering?

  10. termination of existence; death:

    He met a horrible end.

  11. a cause of death, destruction, or ruin:

    Another war would be the end of civilization.

  12. a remnant or fragment: ends and trimmings.

    mill end;

    ends and trimmings.

  13. a share or part in something:

    He does his end of the job very well.

  14. Textiles. a warp thread running vertically and interlaced with the filling yarn in the woven fabric.
  15. Football.
    1. either of the linemen: stationed farthest from the center.
    2. the position played by this lineman.
  16. Archery. the number of arrows to be shot by a competitor during one turn in a match.
  17. Cricket. a wicket, especially the one where the batsman is taking a turn.
  18. a unit of a game, as in curling or lawn bowling.
  19. Kantianism. any rational being, regarded as worthy to exist for its own sake.
  20. either half of a domino.
  21. Knots. the part of a rope, beyond a knot or the like, that is not used.
  22. 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.

  3. to form the end of:

    This passage ends the novel.

  4. to cause the demise of; kill:

    A bullet through the heart ended him.

  5. 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.

  3. 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

  1. final or ultimate:

    the end result.

end

2

[ end ]

verb (used with object)

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

end-

3
  1. variant of endo- before a vowel:

    endameba.

end.

4

abbreviation for

  1. endorsed.

-end

1

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


end-

2

combining_form

  1. a variant of endo-
“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

end

3

/ 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
  3. the extreme extent, limit, or degree of something
  4. the most distant place or time that can be imagined

    the ends of the earth

  5. the time at which something is concluded
    1. the last section or part
    2. ( as modifier ) finalterminalultimate

      the end office

  6. a share or part

    his end of the bargain

  7. often plural a remnant or fragment (esp in the phrase odds and ends )
  8. a final state, esp death; destruction
  9. the purpose of an action or existence
  10. sport either of the two defended areas of a playing field, rink, etc
  11. bowls curling a section of play from one side of the rink to the other
  12. American football a player at the extremity of the playing line; wing
  13. all ends up
    totally or completely
  14. a sticky end informal.
    an unpleasant death
  15. at a loose end or at loose ends
    without purpose or occupation
  16. at an end
    exhausted or completed
  17. at the end of the day
    See day
  18. come to an end
    to become completed or exhausted
  19. end on
    1. with the end pointing towards one
    2. with the end adjacent to the end of another object
  20. go off the deep end informal.
    to lose one's temper; react angrily
  21. get one's end away slang.
    to have sexual intercourse
  22. in the end
    finally
  23. 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
  24. make ends meet or make both ends meet
    to spend no more than the money one has
  25. no end or no end of informal.
    (intensifier)

    I had no end of work

  26. on end
    1. upright
    2. without pause or interruption
  27. the end informal.
    1. the worst, esp something that goes beyond the limits of endurance
    2. the best in quality
  28. the end of the road
    the point beyond which survival or continuation is impossible
  29. throw someone in at the deep end
    to put someone into a new situation, job, etc, without preparation or introduction
“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

verb

  1. to bring or come to a finish; conclude
  2. to die or cause to die
  3. tr to surpass; outdo

    a novel to end all novels

  4. end it all informal.
    to commit suicide
“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

end

4

/ ɛnd /

verb

  1. tr to put (hay or grain) into a barn or stack
“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
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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
  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: Also at one's wits' end.

    I'm at my wit's end with this problem.

  3. end for end, in reverse position; inverted:

    The cartons were turned end for end.

  4. end on, with the end next to or facing:

    He backed the truck until it was end on with the loading platform.

  5. end to end, in a row with ends touching:

    The pipes were placed end to end on the ground.

  6. 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.

  7. in the end, finally; after all:

    In the end they shook hands and made up.

  8. 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.

  9. make an end of, to conclude; stop:

    Let's make an end of this foolishness and get down to work.

  10. make ends meet, to live within one's means: Also make both ends meet.

    Despite her meager income, she tried to make ends meet.

  11. no end, Informal. very much or many:

    They were pleased no end by the warm reception.

  12. on end,
    1. having the end down; upright:

      to stand a box on end.

    2. continuously; successively:

      They talked for hours on end.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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