ultimate
Americanadjective
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last; furthest or farthest; ending a process or series.
the ultimate point in a journey; the ultimate style in hats.
-
maximum; decisive; conclusive.
the ultimate authority; the ultimate weapon.
- Synonyms:
- supreme
-
highest; not subsidiary.
ultimate goal in life.
-
basic; fundamental; representing a limit beyond which further progress, as in investigation or analysis, is impossible.
the ultimate particle; ultimate principles.
-
final; total.
the ultimate consequences; the ultimate cost of a project.
- Antonyms:
- first
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not to be improved upon or surpassed; greatest; unsurpassed.
the ultimate vacation spot; the ultimate stupidity.
noun
-
ultimates
plural
-
the final point; final result.
-
a fundamental fact or principle.
-
the best, greatest, or most extreme of its kind.
adjective
-
conclusive in a series or process; last; final
an ultimate question
-
the highest or most significant
the ultimate goal
-
elemental, fundamental, basic, or essential
-
most extreme
genocide is the ultimate abuse of human rights
-
final or total
an ultimate cost of twenty million pounds
noun
Synonym Usage
See last 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ultimate
First recorded in 1645–55; from Late Latin ultimātus (past participle of ultimāre “to come to an end”), equivalent to Latin ultim(us) “last, most distant” + -ātus past participle suffix; see ultima, -ate 1
Explanation
The last in a series can be described as the ultimate. A cheeky kid, when asked what she wants to be when she grows up, might say, "I want to be an actress, a singer, and a veterinarian, but my ultimate goal is to be President of the United States." A definition for the adjective ultimate is the furthest in space or time or the highest in degree or order. Traveling for business, you are flying first to London, then to Portugal, but your ultimate destination is South Africa. The kids ask you if they can invite friends over to play video games. It's a good idea to reply, "Mom isn't home from work yet and she's ultimate authority on the schedule."
Vocabulary lists containing ultimate
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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Starting Your New Life: Inspiring Words from Commencement Speeches
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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.
See Examples For:
But it was also something specific to this band: the ultimate Texan vindication, which happened to materialize while the Chicks were getting ready backstage.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026
The ultimate challenge will be establishing whether its apparent advantages in animals translate into meaningful benefits for patients.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Whether or not projects can be approved and the ultimate cost for data centers to get the electricity they need “can matter much more to a company’s earnings than the national election headline,” Tigay added.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
"Our ultimate goal is to hold these social media companies accountable for how their actions have impacted millions of children across the country, and these settlements allow us to keep building toward that goal."
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
“But let’s be real: Lil’ Kim is the ultimate queen bee.”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
There is more in this book about Miss Woolson's literary mannerisms than Lincoln's world-shaking ideas; more about Joaquin Miller's escapades than Melville's struggles with the ultimates of morality.
From Time Magazine Archive
And the book is, finally, both religious in its treatment of ultimates and morally eloquent in its strong rebuke for those who scorn any culture but their own.
From Time Magazine Archive
In this building," Clark proclaims, "everything emanates and ultimates from me.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nor should I make even a passing allusion to it, were it not for its political ultimates.
From The Conqueror by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
The two principles remain ultimates; neither is reduced to the other.
From Monophysitism Past and Present A Study in Christology by A. A. (Arthur Aston) Luce
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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.
