alpha and omega

American  

noun

1. the beginning and the end.

2. the basic or essential element or elements.

   the alpha and omega of political reform.

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alpha and omega British  

noun

1. the first and last, a phrase used in Revelation 1:8 to signify God's eternity

2. the basic reason or meaning; most important part

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alpha and omega ¹ Cultural  

1. The beginning and the end. In the Greek alphabet, in which the New Testament was written, alpha is the first letter and omega is the last. In the Book of Revelation, God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last,” meaning that God remains from the beginning to the end of time.

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alpha and omega ² Cultural  

1. The beginning and the end. In the New Testament Book of Revelation, God says, “I am Alpha and Omega,” meaning that he is the beginning and end of all things. In the Greek alphabet, alpha is the first letter and omega is the last.

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alpha and omega Idioms  

1. The beginning and the end, the first and the last, as in She had to master the alpha and omega of the new computer program before she could even begin. This idiom and its meaning, based on the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, appears in the New Testament (Revelation 1:8): “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,” where it is repeated three more times.

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Example Sentences

The decision says almost nothing about the procedure that most laypersons think is the alpha and omega of IVF — the implantation of manually fertilized embryos into the uterus.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024

The year is barely three weeks old and already we've been gifted with what may be the alpha and omega of 2022's self-owns in Vulture's interview with Joss Whedon.

From Salon • Jan. 22, 2022

Second, insisting that Dr. Seuss books are the alpha and omega of children’s literature shows a tiresome lack of imagination.

From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2021

Those who find superheroes the alpha and omega of comics date the end of the golden age to some time in the postwar 1940s when interest in the genre faded.

From The Guardian • Aug. 17, 2019

The screen responded as quickly as thought itself, and out of the welter of lines and flashes a series of pictures formed with perfect clarity: compasses, alpha and omega again, lightning, angel.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman