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. termination; conclusion:

   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

end-

²

combining_form

1. a variant of endo-

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
6. 1. the last section or part
   2. ( as modifier ) finalterminalultimate

      the end office

7. a share or part

   his end of the bargain

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

    I had no end of work

27. on end
    1. upright
    2. without pause or interruption
28. the end informal.
    1. the worst, esp something that goes beyond the limits of endurance
    2. the best in quality
29. the end of the road
    the point beyond which survival or continuation is impossible
30. 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
3. tr to surpass; outdo

   a novel to end all novels

4. end it all informal.
   to commit suicide

end

⁴

/ ɛnd /

verb

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

Derived Forms

• ˈender, noun

Other Words From

• end·er noun

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

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

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

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.

Example Sentences

If science tried to be efficient, if it refused to replicate, we would end up only with observations and correlations.

From Slate

This is, in the end, more efficient than the alternative.

From Slate

The bill, which was published this week, would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their life.

From BBC

The first vote on the issue will take place in the Commons at the end of the month.

From BBC

Their task at the start was to “give certain rules to our language, to render it pure and eloquent” – to which end they set about writing their first dictionary.

From BBC

Related Words

• closure
• conclusion
• finish
• issue
• outcome
• resolution
• result
• retirement