ultimately
Britishadverb
Explanation
Ultimately means "at the very end of the process." Your strategy of robbing banks with a water gun worked a few times, but ultimately it was unsuccessful. Use ultimately when you want to stress that there are many different elements of something, but in the end there's one clear conclusion. The city parks department might listen to everyone's ideas for what to do with that empty lot, but ultimately they'll do whatever they think will serve the city best. Ultimately comes from the Latin ultimāre, meaning, lying at the very end.
Vocabulary lists containing ultimately
Tuesdays with Morrie
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Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
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Obama, on the 50th anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'
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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.
In 2009, when the issue first reached the Supreme Court, Roberts wrote an opinion in the Northwest Austin case that raised questions about Section 5’s continuing constitutionality but ultimately punted on the question.
From Slate • May 13, 2026
As with all requests, Low’s chances of a pardon will ultimately rest with Trump and a team of legal advisers.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
"Plaintiffs, conversely, can be made whole through refunds, including interest, if the tariffs are ultimately held unlawful and refundable," the government said.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
The mayor last year proposed eliminating the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office amid a $1 billion budget shortfall, a move that was ultimately rejected by the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
But then they wound up doing something quite different from—and, ultimately, more profitable than—what everyone else who bet against the subprime mortgage market was doing: They bet against the upper floors—the double-A tranches—of the CDOs.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
