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.
Other origin stories claim that pretzels were called “bracchiatus,” the Latin term for “branches” or “arm,” which was derived by the Germans to create “bretzel,” ultimately inspiring the name we use today.
From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026
"This failure to adapt ultimately put financial strain on the business, as its model became increasingly vulnerable."
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
“We do believe that ultimately you will see a bit of a return toward this broadening of stock-market participation,” Thooft said during an interview with MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
But plunging prices ultimately forced U.S. producers to become more efficient and competitive.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
In typical American fashion, bold innovations and clever ideas to meet the demand for illegal alcohol would ultimately impact American life forever.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
