happy ending
Americannoun
-
happy endings
plural
-
in a story, a conclusion in which good has the final victory and major issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the lead characters, often with the formation of a romantic relationship and sometimes regarded as unrealistic, cliché, or sentimental.
-
in real life, a favorable conclusion to any issue or series of events; a positive outcome for a particular person or group.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Reading and becoming part of a book group proved a lifesaver for him, coaxing him back to his own happy ending.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Writer-director Reed Van Dyk’s feature debut navigates tricky emotional waters but emerges as a trenchant examination of what forgiveness and penitence can look like, allowing no room for anything resembling a pat happy ending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
There’s more subtlety, more shades of gray, and while it doesn’t have a happy ending either, it offers ecstatic redemption.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Some authors want to give their main character a happy ending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
“A happy ending depends on where you stop the story.”
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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.
