penultimate
Americanadjective
-
next to the last.
the penultimate scene of the play.
-
of or relating to a penult or the next to the last syllable in a word.
In the word appropriate, -pri- is the penultimate syllable.
noun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of penultimate
Explanation
If something’s the penultimate, then it’s the second to last thing in a series. If you’re watching the penultimate episode of your favorite TV show, you know that there’s only one more episode to go. Penultimate came into English in the 17th century from the Latin word paenultimus, a combination of paene, meaning “almost,” and ultimus, meaning “last.” So if something’s penultimate, it’s “almost last”: more specifically, it’s next to last. If you’re reading a book with 20 chapters, chapter 19 is the penultimate chapter. If you’re a fan of grammar terms, you might already know that penultimate can refer to a word’s next to last syllable, called a penult.
Vocabulary lists containing penultimate
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This Week in Pop Culture: November 10 - 16, 2018
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In three trips to the penultimate round, they managed to win just one game.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
The buzz: With a goal and an assist in the Americans’ penultimate warm-up with Senegal, Christian Pulisic broke out of a career-long scoring drought and proved himself ready for the World Cup.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Sunday's 6-2 drubbing of Panama in their penultimate match before the World Cup kicks off was encouraging.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
A giant twist in the series’ penultimate episode, “The Garden,” came with the reveal that the crowning achievement motivating Deborah all season long, a sold-out Madison Square Garden performance, was a cruel illusion.
From Salon • May 29, 2026
The squares on the board in front of me are filling up: I’m making my penultimate play of the night.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
