ultimate

American  

[uhl-tuh-mit] / ˈʌl tə mɪt /

adjective

1. last; furthest or farthest; ending a process or series.

   the ultimate point in a journey; the ultimate style in hats.

   Synonyms:

   uttermost, extreme

2. maximum; decisive; conclusive.

   the ultimate authority; the ultimate weapon.

   Synonyms:

   supreme

3. highest; not subsidiary.

   ultimate goal in life.

4. basic; fundamental; representing a limit beyond which further progress, as in investigation or analysis, is impossible.

   the ultimate particle; ultimate principles.

5. final; total.

   the ultimate consequences; the ultimate cost of a project.

   Antonyms:

   first

6. not to be improved upon or surpassed; greatest; unsurpassed.

   the ultimate vacation spot; the ultimate stupidity.

---

noun

ultimates plural

1. the final point; final result.

2. a fundamental fact or principle.

3. the best, greatest, or most extreme of its kind.

ultimate British  

/ ˈʌltɪmɪt /

adjective

1. conclusive in a series or process; last; final

   an ultimate question

2. the highest or most significant

   the ultimate goal

3. elemental, fundamental, basic, or essential

4. most extreme

   genocide is the ultimate abuse of human rights

5. final or total

   an ultimate cost of twenty million pounds

---

noun

1. the most significant, highest, furthest, or greatest thing

Synonym Usage

See last ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ultimateness
  noun
• subultimate
  adjective
• ultimately
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ultimates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ultimate

First recorded in 1645–55; from Late Latin ultimātus (past participle of ultimāre “to come to an end”), equivalent to Latin ultim(us) “last, most distant” + -ātus past participle suffix; see ultima, -ate ¹

Explanation

The last in a series can be described as the ultimate. A cheeky kid, when asked what she wants to be when she grows up, might say, "I want to be an actress, a singer, and a veterinarian, but my ultimate goal is to be President of the United States." A definition for the adjective ultimate is the furthest in space or time or the highest in degree or order. Traveling for business, you are flying first to London, then to Portugal, but your ultimate destination is South Africa. The kids ask you if they can invite friends over to play video games. It's a good idea to reply, "Mom isn't home from work yet and she's ultimate authority on the schedule."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ultimate ultimates

Unfortunately, one of the people who paid the ultimate price in this feud is Anna’s coworker, whom she couldn’t leave out of her personal problems.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

The family was on a pleasure flight over Manhattan, described by the operator as the "ultimate sightseeing tour of New York City."

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

Jackson didn’t render an ultimate decision on this question, but strongly suggested that she would side with a transgender litigant who presented this argument in a future case.

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026

And for many of these hunters, the ultimate prize is the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

However, though zero appeared and reappeared throughout Descartes’s philosophy, Descartes insisted unto his death that the void—the ultimate zero—does not exist.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

There is more in this book about Miss Woolson's literary mannerisms than Lincoln's world-shaking ideas; more about Joaquin Miller's escapades than Melville's struggles with the ultimates of morality.

From Time Magazine Archive

And the book is, finally, both religious in its treatment of ultimates and morally eloquent in its strong rebuke for those who scorn any culture but their own.

From Time Magazine Archive

In this building," Clark proclaims, "everything emanates and ultimates from me.

From Time Magazine Archive

He is no longer concerned with psychological ultimates, or real costs.

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.

He knows that this "ultimate of ultimates is Force," 328 an "Omnipresent Power," 329 is "One" and "Eternal."

From Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by Cocker, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)

Related Words

• preeminent
• transcendent
• utmost