bitter end

[ bit-er end for 1; bit-er end for 2 ]
See synonyms for bitter end on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the conclusion of a difficult or unpleasant situation; the last or furthest extremity: Despite the unpleasant scenes in the movie, she insisted on staying until the bitter end.

  2. Nautical.

    • the inboard end of an anchor chain or cable, secured in the chain locker of a vessel.

    • the end of any chain or cable.

Origin of bitter end

1
1620–30 in form bitters end; probably bitt + -er1, later taken as bitter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bitter end in a sentence

  • Harney still lay on the bed, motionless and with fixed eyes, as though following his vision to its bitter end.

    Summer | Edith Wharton
  • “Now listen to this, girls,” said Puddy, who was intent on reading her excerpts to the bitter end.

    The Gentle Art of Cooking Wives | Elizabeth Strong Worthington
  • But there were ugly people in the world, who began ugly, and went on being ugly to the bitter end.

    The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins
  • But they are deaf and blind to the things of God; so the awful indictment must proceed to the bitter end.

  • Florence then came out, and we left those two to fight it out to the bitter end.

British Dictionary definitions for bitter end

bitter end

noun
  1. nautical the end of a line, chain, or cable, esp the end secured in the chain locker of a vessel

    • to the bitter end until the finish of a task, job, or undertaking, however unpleasant or difficult

    • until final defeat or death

Origin of bitter end

1
C19: in both senses perhaps from bitt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with bitter end

bitter end

The last extremity; also, death or ruin. For example, I'm supporting the union's demands to the bitter end, or Even though they fight a lot, I'm sure Mom and Dad will stay together to the bitter end. The source of this term may have been nautical, a bitter being a turn of a cable around posts, or bitts, on a ship's deck, and the bitter end meaning “the part of the cable that stays inboard.” Thus, when a rope is paid out to the bitter end, no more remains. [Mid-1800s]

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