penultimate

[ pi-nuhl-tuh-mit ]

/ pɪˈnʌl tə mɪt /

adjective

next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.

of or relating to a penult or the next to the last syllable in a word: In the word appropriate, -pri- is the penultimate syllable.

noun

a penult.

Nearby words

Origin of penultimate

First recorded in 1670–80; see origin at penult, ultimate

Can be confusedlast penultimate ultimate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for penultimate

But then that big bang that ended the penultimate episode happened.
Inside ‘Orange Is the New Black’ S2, Eps. 6-12: About That Shocking Incest Scene|Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern|June 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And on the penultimate episode of The Bachelor, Assistant District Attorney Andi became the second to reject him.
Andi Wins ‘The Bachelor’ by Dumping Juan Pablo|Brandy Zadrozny|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just look at the penultimate symbol of urban renaissance, Brooklyn.
The Revolt Against Urban Gentry|Joel Kotkin|November 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The penultimate band is $200,000 to $250,000, which is ten times as wide as the previous band.
Department of Awful Statistics: Income Inequality Edition|Megan McArdle|February 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

This is the penultimate commercial of a leading force (pun intended) in the Super Bowl ad game.
Volkswagen’s Super Bowl Ad an Unfunny Slight to Culture|Pia Glenn|January 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Doubtless the drama of the penultimate year 1917 did not centre in the supra-Somme country.
The Challenge of the Dead|Stephen Graham
In the former the last whorl is broadest, in the latter the penultimate.
Our British Snails|John William Horsley
Examples have been given of the exceptional passive condition of the penultimate instar in Exopterygota.
The Life-Story of Insects|Geo. H. Carpenter
In males of T. ornata the penultimate phalanx of the first toe has a normal, vertical articular surface on its proximal end.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz|John M. Legler
In closed final syllables or penultimate or earlier syllables the contrast does not obtain.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan|John U. Wolff

British Dictionary definitions for penultimate

penultimate

/ (pɪˈnʌltɪmɪt) /

adjective

next to the last

noun

anything that is next to the last, esp a penult

Word Origin for penultimate

C17: from Latin paene almost + ultimate, on the model of Latin paenultimus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for penultimate

penultimate

adj.

1670s, from penultima (n.) on model of proximate.