bookend

American  

[book-end] / ˈbʊkˌɛnd /

noun

1. a support placed at the end of a row of books to hold them upright, usually used in pairs.

2. one of two things occurring or located at either end of something else.

   two events that served as bookends to my career.

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verb (used with object)

1. to occur or be located at the beginning and end of.

   His term in office was bookended by crises.

Etymology

Origin of bookend

First recorded in 1905–10; book + end ¹

Example Sentences

The episode, far from rekindling a sibling bond, turned out to be a bookend in the two brothers’ relationship.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

We bookend this week with a couple of primaries to watch in Texas on Tuesday—beyond the Senate primaries, as you already know to watch those.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

The initial reaction to Zscaler’s earnings put the stock on course to bookend the week with sharp declines—who’d be a software investor?

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Mustaine felt covering the song would provide a bookend to his career, illustrating exactly where he was before he formed Megadeth.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

To their colleagues, Rutherford and Lawrence would be known as “the two Ernests,” and their work would bookend an epochal quest for knowledge of the natural world.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik