end up

phrasal verb

ended up; ending up; ends up

: to reach or come to a place, condition, or situation that was not planned or expected

The book ended up in the trash.

He didn't want to end up like his father.

She ended up a rich woman.

He ended up (living) in a nursing home.

The movie we wanted to see was sold out so we ended up seeing a different one.

Examples of end up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pete is the one who gets Kayce a job on the five-person marshal team and ends up being a big influence on his friend, despite battling his own demons. —William Earl, Variety, 1 Mar. 2026

This is a dark comedy thriller about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age malaise that leads to one of them ending up dead. —Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Mar. 2026

And the three of them ended up having to sign the pages. —Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026

Depth forward Nathan Bastian ended up with the puck wide open in the slot, dodged Predators goaltender Juuse Saros and scored his fourth goal of the season. —Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 1 Mar. 2026

Rhymes for end up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup