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.

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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

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bottom line Cultural  

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

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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.

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“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

See Examples For:

bottom line

It also projected that its larger package of restaurant improvements could generate approximately $100,000 in annual gross cash-flow benefits for an average U.S. restaurant, with most of those gains eventually benefiting the bottom line.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Most agencies are self-insured, meaning the loss of a vehicle cuts into their bottom line, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Boatwright worked under Niccol while Chipotle was trying to rebuild its reputation and bottom line following a food-safety scare during the prior decade.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Regardless, the bottom line was that late-stage cancers weren’t reduced overall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

The bottom line is, he might have loved Raquel.

From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

Related Words

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