bottom line

noun

1. the last line of a financial statement, used for showing net profit or loss.
2. net profit or loss.
3. the deciding or crucial factor.
4. the ultimate result; outcome.

bottom line

noun

1. the last line of a financial statement that shows the net profit or loss of a company or organization
2. the final outcome of a process, discussion, etc
3. the most important or fundamental aspect of a situation

bottom line

1. The last line in an audit , which shows profit or loss.

Notes

“Bottom line” also has a derogatory implication when it refers to those people whose attention to the bottom line prevents them from recognizing the value of anything else.

By extension, “bottom line” refers to the final, determining consideration in a decision.

Other Words From

• bottom-line adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bottom line¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Idioms and Phrases

The ultimate result, the upshot; also, the main point or crucial factor. For example, The bottom line is that the chairman wants to dictate all of the board's decisions , or Whether or not he obeyed the law is the bottom line . This is an accounting term that refers to the earnings figures that appear on the bottom (last) line of a statement. It began to be transferred to other contexts in the mid-1900s.

Example Sentences

The bottom line is that antibody testing “for the purposes of vaccine decision-making” is not advisable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From Washington Post

The bottom line, she said, is that wearing any type of mask is better than not wearing one at all.

From Washington Post

The bottom line, though, is that these tax structures could be updated to be more equitable.

From ProPublica

The bottom line is that the threat of snow for Sunday is diminishing.

From Washington Post

The truth of the matter is, the contactless experience is no longer just a “nice-to-have” but a necessity that impacts the retailer’s bottom line.

From Digiday

Bottom line is that it will only be a BVR [beyond visual range] airplane.

From The Daily Beast

Israeli elections means a time out And that brings us to the bottom line.

From The Daily Beast

It seems to me that we are dealing with more than bottom-line economics and bottom-squeezing ergonomics.

From The Daily Beast

Bottom line is we should expect to hear Sunday that the grand jury has not indicted Wilson.

From The Daily Beast

The bottom line is that Ebola is terrible and the world is not doing enough.

From The Daily Beast

The altered die has the three vertical lines, but the horizontal lines are omitted to the point where the bottom line begins.

From Project Gutenberg

The bottom line, being nearest to the centre of the circle, is now shorter than the centre line.

From Project Gutenberg

Page 263, after the word insects (bottom line of note), add, but the whole marking is suggestive of distastefulness.

From Project Gutenberg

In like manner, the totals in the bottom line are all equivalent to percentages since 100 buds of each parent tree were used.

From Project Gutenberg

Our plan will improve the bottom line for more than 23 million small businesses.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cardinal
• critical
• crucial
• essential
• fundamental
• important
• indispensable