ending
Americannoun
-
a bringing or coming to an end; termination; close.
Putting away the Christmas ornaments marked the ending of the season.
-
the final or concluding part; conclusion.
a story with a happy ending.
-
death; destruction.
-
Grammar. a morpheme, especially an inflection, at the end of a word, as -s in cuts.
-
(not in technical use) any final word part, as the -ow of widow.
noun
-
the act of bringing to or reaching an end
-
the last part of something, as a book, film, etc
-
the final part of a word, esp a suffix
-
chess another word for endgame
Usage
What is an ending? An ending is a conclusion, as in I like stories with a happy ending.An ending is also a time when something is finishing or nearing completion, as in I’m ending my school career with all As. An ending is the opposite of a beginning and is used to mean the conclusion of something. Movies have endings. So do civilizations, like the Roman Empire. We even sometimes refer to a person’s death as an ending. Endings and the reasons or events surrounding them are often intensely studied or debated.Example: I liked the book until the terrible ending where the villain won in the last chapter.
Other Word Forms
- unending adjective
- unendingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of ending
First recorded before 1000; Middle English endyng, Old English endung; equivalent to end 1 + -ing 1
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 obviously being used to punctuate the ending of a chapter with the show coming to a close.
As he plotted out the film, Kohs grabbed a Sharpie, drew a medal with a ribbon and pinned the notecard to his research board, manifesting his dream ending: a Nobel Prize.
Sinner's ban expired in May and he bounced back to win Wimbledon and the ATP Finals, ending the year as world number two behind fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz.
From Barron's
The verdict came almost a month after the start of their trial at a court on Lesbos, ending a legal ordeal for the activists since 2018.
From Barron's
Overall revenues were $13.5 billion, down three percent from the year-ago period, due largely to ending its credit card business with Apple.
From Barron's
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.
