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at the end of the day

American  
[at thee end uhv thuh dey] / ˌæt ði ˈɛnd əv ðə ˈdeɪ /

idiom

  1. after everything is considered or accounted for; ultimately.

    At the end of the day, we went for simpler printers that just do their job as soon as you click “print” on your device.

    “Yes, cost and convenience matter, but at the end of the day, it’s about the welfare of our children,” she said.

Etymology

Origin of at the end of the day

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"It's time at the end of the day, it saves them time producing extensive and detailed feedback and personalised feedback for their students."

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

But at the end of the day, "if you build a hammer... you can hurt yourself. So should we not build hammers any more"?

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

That is, an incorrect fact in hastily produced copy—intended, at the end of the day, to capture as many eyeballs as possible rather than to inform—can all too easily be repeated by an LLM.

From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026

“And at the end of the day you feel you’ve made a contribution.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

I was fired at the end of the day.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.