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.

---

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

Etymology

Origin of bottom line

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

“The bottom line is that fertility is declining around the world, and that isn’t new,” says Goldin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

The bottom line is the stock price and the top line is implied volatility.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

And through that lens, you start being blinded by this humanity that’s around you or caring for people around you rather than a bottom line.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

High beef prices have also been hurting Shake Shack’s bottom line.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

But the bottom line was that we were far from poor and our future was promising, maybe even more promising for the fact that it couldn’t easily be planned.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

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