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.
Judge April Mack ultimately ruled against Jackson and upheld an eviction filing, ordering that he vacate the property, arguing against his claims that the leak had made the unit uninhabitable.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
According to the researchers, melting alone can ultimately remove as much as 40 percent of the original rock's mass.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Warsh’s remarks on AI bear on the question of how high rates ultimately need to go, and the answer may depend on how much the technology sector responds to borrowing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The Central Elections Committee ultimately rejected their request, saying that "the current circumstances do not justify an extension" and that the high turnout "reflects strong public engagement in the democratic process".
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Chief Lapu Lapu led a rebellion, ultimately killing Magellan on April 27, 1521.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
