adverb
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after a long delay; at last; eventually
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at the end or final point; lastly
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completely; conclusively; irrevocably
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in the end; lastly
finally, he put his tie on
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as the last or final point: linking what follows with the previous statements, as in a speech or argument
Etymology
Origin of finally
Explanation
Finally means "at the end of a long wait." Although it seemed like it would never end, and in the middle you were cursing the day you signed up for the marathon, when you finally finished, you were overjoyed. Final means "last," so use the adverb finally to describe an end result or long-awaited satisfaction. Once the tedious dinner party was over, you finally got to go home and watch TV. If you're giving a speech and you have 14 different points that you're going to make, when you get to the last one, say "finally..." and then make the point. You can also say "in conclusion..." if that last point really sums it all up.
Vocabulary lists containing finally
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 4
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Workshop 2, Part 1
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Unit 8
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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.
“Apple Intelligence is now finally launching two years late with the features that we said it was going to launch with,” said Dailey, the former Apple executive briefing leader.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
The difference two decades later is that Djokovic is intimately familiar with what it takes over the next two weeks to finally reach No. 25.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
And finally, they’ll discuss why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s latest market tinkering has everyone chiming in.
From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026
“I’m glad it’s taken care of, but it’s too bad that it took a fire to finally get them out here,” Ledworth said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
After that she played ‘Someday We’ll Understand’, then the popular ‘Who’ll Be Next? Be Ready’, and finally ‘The Old Rugged Cross’, played with a cake-walk tempo because we’d started late.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.
