bottom line

American  

noun

bottom lines plural

1. the last line of a financial statement, used for showing net profit or loss.

2. net profit or loss.

3. the deciding or crucial factor.

4. the ultimate result; outcome.

---

bottom line British  

noun

1. the last line of a financial statement that shows the net profit or loss of a company or organization

2. the final outcome of a process, discussion, etc

3. the most important or fundamental aspect of a situation

---

bottom line Cultural  

1. The last line in an audit, which shows profit or loss.

---

bottom line Idioms  

1. The ultimate result, the upshot; also, the main point or crucial factor. For example, The bottom line is that the chairman wants to dictate all of the board's decisions, or Whether or not he obeyed the law is the bottom line. This is an accounting term that refers to the earnings figures that appear on the bottom (last) line of a statement. It began to be transferred to other contexts in the mid-1900s.

---

Discover More

“Bottom line” also has a derogatory implication when it refers to those people whose attention to the bottom line prevents them from recognizing the value of anything else.

By extension, “bottom line” refers to the final, determining consideration in a decision.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bottom-line
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bottom lines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bottom line

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

The group’s bottom line will take a hit from those headwinds, it warned.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026

The bottom line is that the SpaceX IPO appeared designed to pump up the stock’s value to the point of what Alan Greenspan might have called “irrational exuberance.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026

“The bottom line is that a mismatch between current earnings expectations and the actual time firms need to generate ROI on AI investments could have significant implications for many AI company valuations today.”

From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026

Gender pay gaps remain well-documented across organizations — even when the consequence is a hit to the bottom line.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026

In fact, compared with Wal-Mart’s unctuous service ethic, Todd’s emphasis on the bottom line is positively refreshing.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• cardinal
• critical
• crucial
• essential
• fundamental
• important
• indispensable