end-all
Americannoun
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the ultimate purpose, object, or conclusion.
Money is the be-all and end-all of his existence.
-
something that brings things to such an end or conclusion.
noun
Etymology
Origin of end-all
First recorded in 1595–1605
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It's not the be-all and end-all, but it would be another marker the players can look back on.
From BBC
“We didn’t even really think of ourselves really as, like, Hispanic — I mean, we all were, but it wasn’t the end-all be-all,” Barrios said.
From Los Angeles Times
Ultimately, in a game where the score isn’t the end-all, be-all — but the fun is — the Bananas beat the Firefighters 5–2.
From Los Angeles Times
Promotion is the be-all and end-all here, failure to achieve that will mean enduring those dreary 0-0s will have been for nothing.
From BBC
He told Laverne that while he still works "very, very hard" it is no longer the "be-all and end-all of everything".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.