finale
Americannoun
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the last piece, division, or movement of a concert, opera, or composition.
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the concluding part of any performance, course of proceedings, etc.; end.
noun
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the concluding part of any performance or presentation
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the closing section or movement of a musical composition
Etymology
Origin of finale
1715–25; < Italian, noun use of finale (adj.) < Latin fīnālis final
Explanation
If you decide to leave the theater early to beat traffic, you’ll miss the finale — the exciting final part of a theatrical performance. Perhaps to ensure that audience members stay until the end, many musical and theatrical pieces end with an elaborate flourish known as the finale. (If it’s truly spectacular, it might even be called a “grand finale.”) Appropriately, the pronunciation of finale contains a final flourish that you just can’t miss: the letter e, which you might expect to be silent, is pronounced. The last two syllables of finale rhyme with alley.
Vocabulary lists containing finale
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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Theater - Introductory
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Theater - Middle School
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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.
Entering Sunday’s finale, LaRavia led the Lakers with 249 total deflections and ranked second with 3.0 deflections per game.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Shona Campbell and Lucia Scott ran in tries for Scotland after a huge momentum shift in the second half, while Wales captain Kate Williams pulled one back to set up a frantic finale.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Bill is a genius in terms of setting something up in a previous episode so that there’s a payoff in the finale.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Paul W. Downs, who created the series alongside Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, said the finale encapsulates the ethos of the entire five-season project.
From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026
We were doing our Net Sports Unit, which meant two weeks of Badminton, two weeks of Ping-Pong/Table Tennis, and the grande finale: two weeks of Volleyball.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
