bookend

American  

[book-end] / ˈbʊkˌɛnd /

noun

1. a support placed at the end of a row of books to hold them upright, usually used in pairs.

2. one of two things occurring or located at either end of something else.

   two events that served as bookends to my career.

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verb (used with object)

1. to occur or be located at the beginning and end of.

   His term in office was bookended by crises.

Etymology

Origin of bookend

First recorded in 1905–10; book + end ¹

Example Sentences

We bookend this week with a couple of primaries to watch in Texas on Tuesday—beyond the Senate primaries, as you already know to watch those.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

The initial reaction to Zscaler’s earnings put the stock on course to bookend the week with sharp declines—who’d be a software investor?

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Mustaine felt covering the song would provide a bookend to his career, illustrating exactly where he was before he formed Megadeth.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

The photographs that bookend “Here to There,” respectively titled “Decision Time” and “Decision Made,” were snapped through Mr. Winter’s windshield mere moments apart.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Two guards bookend the prisoners, the same as the transport yesterday: The older man with the craggy, deep-lined features who looks like my uncle is in front, and the young one follows the prisoners.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse