bottom line

American  

noun

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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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

• bottom-line
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bottom line

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

The bottom line: Nextpower’s $365 million bet on Prevalon arrives at a perfect time, as the company benefits from a dual wave of geopolitical shocks and AI-fueled demand.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Guggenheim analyst Simeon Siegel wrote Thursday that Ralph Lauren’s “strong top and bottom line beat” are positives for the stock.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

For Walmart, the bottom line matters because its tech-like growth story, which has helped catapult its share price to 43 times forward earnings, is predicated on growing operating profits faster than revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

For the bottom line, you usually get a number that is the estimated tax difference between converting and not converting.

From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026

There has to be a more exciting way to complain of boredom. bottom line.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Related Words

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