end

noun

\ ˈend

Definition of end

(Entry 1 of 5)

1a : the part of an area that lies at the boundary

b(1) : a point that marks the extent of something

(2) : the point where something ceases to exist world without end

c : the extreme or last part lengthwise : tip

d : the terminal unit of something spatial that is marked off by units

e : a player stationed at the extremity of a line or team (as in football)

2a : cessation of a course of action, pursuit, or activity

b : death, destruction

c(1) : the ultimate state

(2) : result, issue

3 : something incomplete, fragmentary, or undersized : remnant

4a : an outcome worked toward : purpose the end of poetry is to be poetry— R. P. Warren

b : the object by virtue of or for the sake of which an event takes place

5a : a share in an undertaking kept your end up

b : a particular operation or aspect of an undertaking or organization the sales end of the business

6 : something that is extreme : ultimate —used with the

7 : a period of action or turn in any of various sports events (such as archery or lawn bowling)

in the end

: after all, ultimately will surely succeed in the end

no end

: exceedingly it pleases us no end

on end

: without a stop or letup it rained for days on end

end

verb (1)

ended; ending; ends

Definition of end (Entry 2 of 5)

transitive verb

1a : to bring to an end

b : destroy

2 : to make up the end of a wedding scene ends the film

intransitive verb

1a : to come to an end the meeting will end at noon

b : to reach a specified ultimate rank, situation, or place —usually used with up ended up as a colonel

2 : die

end

adjective

Definition of end (Entry 3 of 5)

: final, ultimate end results end markets

end

verb (2)

ended; ending; ends

Definition of end (Entry 4 of 5)

transitive verb

dialectal, England

: to put (grain or hay) into a barn or stack

end-

combining form

variants: or endo-

Definition of end- (Entry 5 of 5)

1 : within : inside endoskeleton — compare ect-, exo-

2 : taking in endothermic

Other Words from end Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about end

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Choose the Right Synonym for end

Noun

intention, intent, purpose, design, aim, end, object, objective, goal mean what one intends to accomplish or attain. intention implies little more than what one has in mind to do or bring about. announced his intention to marry intent suggests clearer formulation or greater deliberateness. the clear intent of the statute purpose suggests a more settled determination. being successful was her purpose in life design implies a more carefully calculated plan. the order of events came by accident, not design aim adds to these implications of effort directed toward attaining or accomplishing. her aim was to raise film to an art form end stresses the intended effect of action often in distinction or contrast to the action or means as such. willing to use any means to achieve his end object may equal end but more often applies to a more individually determined wish or need. his constant object was the achievement of pleasure objective implies something tangible and immediately attainable. their objective is to seize the oil fields goal suggests something attained only by prolonged effort and hardship. worked years to reach her goals

Verb (1)

close, end, conclude, finish, complete, terminate mean to bring or come to a stopping point or limit. close usually implies that something has been in some way open as well as unfinished. close a debate end conveys a strong sense of finality. ended his life conclude may imply a formal closing (as of a meeting). the service concluded with a blessing finish may stress completion of a final step in a process. after it is painted, the house will be finished complete implies the removal of all deficiencies or a successful finishing of what has been undertaken. the resolving of this last issue completes the agreement terminate implies the setting of a limit in time or space. your employment terminates after three months

Examples of end in a Sentence

Noun

The report is due at the end of the month. She interviewed several players at the end of the game. The restaurant is in the north end of the city. We biked from one end of the island to the other. The house is at the end of the road. They live at opposite ends of town. the deep end of a swimming pool She drove the end of the stake into the ground. The car's front end was damaged. One end of the rope was tangled.

Adjective

the end product of a process the end point of the operation

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Press pointed ends of the small pieces into cupcakes for ears. — Woman's Day Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Spring Animal Cupcakes," 7 Mar. 2019 At the moment, the ends of her hair hit just below her collarbones. — Devon Abelman, Allure, "Red Velvet Members Share Their Biggest Skin-Care Secrets," 7 Mar. 2019 Yet the end results were the same: America is spiritually richer because of their generosity. — Terry Teachout, WSJ, "Where Did All the Patrons Go?," 13 Feb. 2019 Resident Evil 2 released last week and is already a strong contender for end-of-year lists. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: The sordid tale of Starbreeze's stumbles, Overwatch players learn piano (with guns)," 1 Feb. 2019 The Fed has been reducing its holdings since 2017 by allowing some bonds to mature without replacing them, but officials now anticipate an end to the runoff in the second half of this year. — Sam Goldfarb, WSJ, "Treasury Bond Prices Rise, With Trading in Narrow Range," 22 Feb. 2019 The current method of fine straining drinks, which the majority of high-end restaurants and bars do, calls for a two-tool, two-step process. — Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, "This Product Will Revolutionize The Art of Cocktail Mixing," 20 Feb. 2019 By wasting no time making Viard’s new role official, Chanel put a quick end to the fiendish guessing game of who’s on next that fashion routinely delights in. — Jessica Iredale, Town & Country, "Virginie Viard, Karl Lagerfeld's Secret Weapon, Succeeds Him at Chanel," 19 Feb. 2019 Sweep your hair around the right side of your head and find a secure spot to tuck the ends in. — Victoria Rodriguez, Seventeen, "6 Super Cute Ways to Style Your Box Braids," 4 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

However well his battles play out, though, new ones are always necessary, as the crime bosses vie for supremacy and the drug families propagate a never-ending cycle of assassination and retribution. — Tom Nolan, WSJ, "Mysteries: Drug Money All the Way Down," 22 Feb. 2019 Especially these days, when the business can seem like a never-ending series of issues which need Herculean strength to overcome. — Mark Holgate, Vogue, "Symonds Pearmain Just Emerged As the Latest Label to Know From London," 16 Feb. 2019 Related Another part of the Labor Department’s report showed the number of federal employees applying for unemployment benefits fell by 5,553 to 1,116 during the week after the partial government shutdown ended. — Harriet Torry, WSJ, "U.S. Jobless Claims Rose Last Week," 14 Feb. 2019 The good news is that even if someone sick sneezes or coughs around you, factors like your past exposure to viruses and your vaccination record could end up protecting you from that illness, depending on the strain in question. — Colleen Stinchcombe, SELF, "Here’s How Far Germs Spread Through Sneezing and Coughing," 13 Feb. 2019 The move to extend presidential terms comes amid concerns that Egypt is slipping back into authoritarianism eight years after a pro-democracy uprising ended Hosni Mubarak’s nearly three-decade rule. — Samy Magdy, The Seattle Times, "Egypt accelerates efforts to extend el-Sissi’s rule," 11 Feb. 2019 After 10 blissful years of gracing our screens, ABC has formally announced that the long-running comedy series will be ending after season 11 (which will air this fall on Wednesday nights and wrap up in spring 2020). — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'Modern Family' Fans React to the Show's Ending and It's Intense," 6 Feb. 2019 Pay particular attention to its veining—and where those veins end—to create a seamless look throughout your kitchen. — Kelly Dawson, House Beautiful, "Everything You Need to Know About Having a Marble Countertop," 5 Feb. 2019 In May 2013, news broke that Levine ended things with Prinsloo and started dating model Nina Agdal, Us Weekly reports. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "5 Things to Know About Behati Prinsloo," 1 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

During all her struggles with end-stage kidney disease, Perry has managed to capture glimmers of hope. — Deanese Williams-harris, chicagotribune.com, "People are using social media to improve their odds of finding organ donors: 'Doing it can save my life'," 6 July 2018 Ealy, who has a played with the Carolina Panthers, New England Panthers and New York Jets since he was picked in the second round out of Missouri in 2014, can play both end spots and provide some reps inside, according to a source. — Clarence E. Hill Jr., star-telegram, "Cowboys add sixth bargain free agent, agree to 1-year deal with DE Kony Ealy | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 5 Apr. 2018 Inspiring creativity, innovation, problem solving, and teamwork in our students are end goals of our Makerspace areas throughout the District. — Shirley Macfarland, cleveland.com, "SouthPark Mall offers free retail space to local entrepreneurs: Strong Points," 23 Feb. 2018 After choosing the perfect name, D'Agostino's next step was determining whether her end goal was a storefront, or simply a pop-up/custom order kind of shop. — Julia Sayers, AL.com, "Meet the woman behind downtown Birmingham's most heavenly chocolates," 15 Dec. 2017 The source said that talks are advanced enough that something could be completed before the Winter Meetings end Thursday at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. — Zach Buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "Giants, Reds seriously discussing Billy Hamilton swap," 12 Dec. 2017 Friends End-of-Summer Warehouse Sale, 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Friends of the Public Library Warehouse, 8456 Vine St., Hartwell. — Rasputin Todd, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week: Aug. 15-20," 15 Aug. 2017 About 15 minutes later, deputies say Simon’s car was captured on surveillance video driving to a dead end street near where East’s body was found. — David Harris, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Woman shot to death over drug debt, dumped in woods in Orange County, deputies say," 7 Aug. 2017 Some South End residents in Hartford are being evacuated because of a gas leak, a fire official said. — Christine Dempsey, courant.com, "Gas Leak Forces Evacuation In South End Of Hartford, Fire Official Says," 28 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'end.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of end

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1607, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for end

Noun

Middle English ende, from Old English; akin to Old High German enti end, Latin ante before, Greek anti against

Verb (2)

probably alteration of English dialect in to harvest

Combining form

French, from Greek, from endon within; akin to Greek en in, Old Latin indu, Hittite andan within — more at in

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Dictionary Entries near end

Statistics for end

Last Updated

18 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for end

The first known use of end was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for end

end

noun

English Language Learners Definition of end

: a point that marks the limit of something : the point at which something no longer continues to happen or exist

: the last part of a story, movie, song, etc.

: the part at the edge or limit of an area

See the full definition for end in the English Language Learners Dictionary

end

noun

\ ˈend

Kids Definition of end

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the part near the boundary of an area I live in the city's north end.

2 : the point where something stops or ceases to exist That's the end of the story.

3 : the first or last part of a thing She knotted the end of the rope.

4 : death sense 1, destruction “You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter …”— J. K. Rowling, Chamber of Secrets

5 : purpose, goal

6 : a player in football positioned at the end of the line of scrimmage

7 : a part of an undertaking He kept his end of the agreement.

end

verb

ended; ending

Kids Definition of end (Entry 2 of 2)

: to bring or come to an end : stop, finish I wish vacation would never end. He ended the discussion.

end up

: to reach or come to a place, condition, or situation unexpectedly “… unless you make a deal with his dad, you're going to end up with nothing …”— Andrew Clements, Frindle