bitter end

1 of 2

noun (1)

: the last extremity however painful or calamitous
bitter-ender noun

bitter end

2 of 2

noun (2)

: the inboard end of a ship's anchoring cable

Examples of bitter end in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
It’s been a long, bitter end to a relationship that officially began in 2012, though Clarkson and Blackstock first met years prior. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024 For opponents of the measures, who sought to convince their right-leaning hometown that its leadership had gone too far, the results were a bitter end to a discordant campaign that pitted neighbors against each other and had both sides harking back to a time when city politics wasn’t so acerbic. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Certainly, Prescott didn’t play his best in the 48-32 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, which proved to be a bitter end to a third straight 12-5 regular season and an early playoff exit. Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Feb. 2024 Theo smoked the cigarette to the bitter end, flipped the butt into the grass, and brushed the ashes off the front of her nightshirt. Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024 So kids are asleep on shoulders with earplugs in, and the parents are standing there until the bitter end. Brianne Tracy, Peoplemag, 19 Sep. 2023 For the local population—after 35 years of euphoria, siege, victory, defeat, and many fateful miscalculations by their leaders—this outcome is a bitter end. Thomas De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 26 Sep. 2023 Related:Two years after MLB debut, Rangers’ Jake Latz returns to Cleveland in new role Q: Chris my nerves are at the absolute bitter end right now for you. Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2023 Churchill badly underestimated the Japanese threat and then, in the face of the siege of Singapore, demanded that British forces fight to the bitter end. Michael C. Desch, Harper's Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bitter end.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

perhaps from bitter end entry 2

Noun (2)

bitter (a turn of cable around the bitts)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1827, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1862, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bitter end was in 1827

Dictionary Entries Near bitter end

Cite this Entry

“Bitter end.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bitter%20end. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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