end

¹ American  

[end] / ɛnd /

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. Slang. the end, the ultimate; the utmost of good or bad.

    His stupidity is the end.

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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 byup ): 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.

idioms

1. at loose ends, without an occupation or plans; unsettled; uncertain.

   He spent two years wandering about the country at loose ends.

2. make ends meet, to live within one's means: Also make both ends meet.

   Despite her meager income, she tried to make ends meet.

3. end to end, in a row with ends touching.

   The pipes were placed end to end on the ground.

4. go off the deep end, to act in a reckless or agitated manner; lose emotional control.

   She went off the deep end when she lost her job.

5. 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.

6. make an end of, to conclude; stop.

   Let's make an end of this foolishness and get down to work.

7. end for end, in reverse position; inverted.

   The cartons were turned end for end.

8. in the end, finally; after all.

   In the end they shook hands and made up.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. on end,

    1. having the end down; upright.

       to stand a box on end.

    2. continuously; successively.

       They talked for hours on end.

12. at the end of the day. at the end of the day.

13. no end, very much or many.

    They were pleased no end by the warm reception.

14. end on, with the end next to or facing.

    He backed the truck until it was end on with the loading platform.

end ² American  

[end] / ɛnd /

verb (used with object)

British Dialect.

1. to put wheat, hay, or other grain into a stack or barn.

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end- ³ American  

1. variant of endo- before a vowel.

   endameba.

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end. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. endorsed.

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end ¹ British  

/ 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 )

      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. totally or completely

15. informal an unpleasant death

16. without purpose or occupation

17. exhausted or completed

18. See day

19. to become completed or exhausted

20. 1. with the end pointing towards one

    2. with the end adjacent to the end of another object

21. informal to lose one's temper; react angrily

22. slang to have sexual intercourse

23. finally

24. 1. to sustain one's part in a joint enterprise

    2. to hold one's own in an argument, contest, etc

25. to spend no more than the money one has

26. informal (intensifier)

    I had no end of work

27. 1. upright

    2. without pause or interruption

28. informal

    1. the worst, esp something that goes beyond the limits of endurance

    2. the best in quality

29. the point beyond which survival or continuation is impossible

30. to put someone into a new situation, job, etc, without preparation or introduction

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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. informal to commit suicide

-end ² British  

suffix

1. See -and

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end ³ British  

/ ɛnd /

verb

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

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end- ⁴ British  

combining form

1. a variant of endo-

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end More Idioms  

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

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Usage

What is a basic definition of end? An end is a conclusion or a last part of a long object. To end is to cease. The word end has many other senses as a verb, noun, and adjective and is used in several idioms.End is a very general word that means a conclusion or a part that is near the conclusion. For example, the end of the summer is the exact moment that it stops being summer, while the end of a movie is the last scene or even the last act. End is often used figuratively to mean death, which is the end of a person’s life.

• Real-life examples: The end of World War II occurred in 1945. The credits usually happen at the end of a movie. Sunset signals the end of daytime.
• Used in a sentence: I liked the beginning of the book, but it got boring near the end. 

In a similar sense, end is used as a verb to mean to cease or to stop permanently or put a stop to something.

• Real-life examples: You can end a fight by walking away. A class often ends when the bell rings. Sometimes, though, the teacher ends the class early and lets all the students leave.
• Used in a sentence: The song was just getting good when it suddenly ended.  

As a noun, end can also mean a last part of something. This sense is used to describe objects that are longer than they are wide. For example, a pencil has an eraser on one end and graphite to write with at the other end.

• Real-life examples: Most power cables have one end that plugs into an electronic device and another end that plugs into the wall. You usually walk across a hallway from one end to the other. A soccer field has goals at each end.
• Used in a sentence: Always point the sharp end of the scissors away from people when you carry them.

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• ender noun

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

By the end of October, Seaman had a pretty good idea of how Kimwolf was sneaking onto Ipidea’s networks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

By the end of his college sophomore year, he was meticulously cataloging them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Grace Lynch was killed at the end of January after being hit in Finglas, County Dublin.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Futures markets have implied 40% price increases through the end of the year, relative to January.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

In the end we would often become impatient with him, and just tell him it was ‘for a blue reason.’

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• achieve
• break up
• cease
• close
• complete
• conclude
• culminate
• delay
• drop
• expire
• finish
• give up
• halt
• play out
• quit
• resolve
• settle
• stop
• terminate
• wind up