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

The sun descends from its summertime perch, putting an end to days that stretch luxuriously into night. — Beth Dreher, Woman's Day, "Meet the Woman Who Stands In at LGBTQ Weddings," 4 May 2019 Fans thought perhaps Beric Dondarrion would teach Jon how to use his flaming sword, thereby fulfilling the prophecy to bring an end to the Night King. — Abby Gardner, Glamour, "Is Arya Stark Actually Azor Ahai, the Prince That Was Promised, on Game of Thrones?," 29 Apr. 2019 Then, at the last moment, Arya Stark leapt in (literally, in a flying leap through the air) to save the day long night, stabbing the Night King with Valyrian steel and putting an end to the Army of the Dead. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Is Arya Azor Ahai? The Battle of Winterfell in 'Game of Thrones'," 29 Apr. 2019 Johnathan took to Twitter to share the troubling news, confirming that the famed boat would be out of commission during crab fishing season, which put an end to his almost four-decades-long streak. — Blair Donovan, Country Living, "This Is Why 'Deadliest Catch' Won't Feature the Time Bandit Anymore," 28 Apr. 2019 At the higher end of the offerings is a sumptuous modern take on a traditional Persian rug, hand-knotted of gray New Zealand wool, starting at $2,295 and available in a range of sizes. — Vanessa Lawrence, ELLE Decor, "See Inside Ben Soleimani’s Fast-Paced, Stylish Worlds in California and London," 17 Apr. 2019 Demonstrations began in December against a hike in the price of bread, and since then, tens of thousands have taken to the streets across the country to call for an end to al-Bashir's autocratic regime. — Bridget Read, Vogue, "The Women of the Sudan Uprising Are Demanding to Be Heard," 9 Apr. 2019 In 1996, a violent Communist insurgency ravaged the country; over the next 10 years, some 17,000 people were killed, with civil war finally putting an end to the incumbent government and 240 years of the troubled Nepali monarchy. — Sophy Roberts, Condé Nast Traveler, "On Your Next Trip to Nepal, Rent the House Sir Edmund Hillary Loved," 20 Dec. 2018 Just snip a leaf as close to the stem as possible and scoop it out or rub the cut-end on your sore spots. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Why Your Sunburn Itches — And How to Stop It," 19 Apr. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Getty Images Her never-ending afro is beyond beautiful. — Maya Allen, Marie Claire, "I Live for Ciara's Larger Than Life Afro at the 2019 Met Gala," 7 May 2019 The final product was a dreamy, futuristic Barbie-meets-Disney princess confection with a never-ending train—and Padukone totally nailed the look. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Deepika Padukone Stunned in a 3D-Printed Princess Dress at the Met Gala," 7 May 2019 Now firefighters have some robotic reinforcements to help make the never-ending battle a fair fight. — Andrew Han, Popular Mechanics, "Meet the Robot Firefighter That Battled the Notre Dame Blaze," 17 Apr. 2019 The night of never-ending steals and saves began when Adam Levine stole Betsy Ade. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "'The Voice' Contestants Might Be in Trouble Next Week—Here's Why," 17 Apr. 2019 On the next pitch, a fastball on the outside corner, Sheffield got Betts to ground into a game-ending double play (the Yankees won 10-1) to secure a scoreless inning for one of the baseball’s top pitching prospects. — Adam Jude, The Seattle Times, "Justus Sheffield found his competitive spirit early, and now it’s driving him toward a Mariners call-up," 13 Apr. 2019 Three of Ali's students, Caitlin Park-Lewis, Ava Jalali, and Dylan Walker, all get wrapped up in some trouble when a fellow student that had been manipulating them using their secrets ended up getting killed. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, ""The Perfectionists" Star Sydney Park on "Screaming" Over That Text from "A" and Paying Homage to an Iconic "PLL" Moment," 24 Apr. 2019 Translation: The circuit ends up being a sneaky cardio workout, too. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "This 4-Move Workout Works Your Whole Body—and All You Need Is a Step," 19 Apr. 2019 The first is that Dany will end up being the real villain of season 8—a Mad Queen of sorts. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Will Daenerys Turn Evil on 'Game of Thrones? Let's Dig Deep Into This Theory," 19 Apr. 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

13 May 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