finale

noun

fi·​na·​le fə-ˈna-lē  fi-ˈnä- 

: the close or termination of something: such as

a

: the last section of an instrumental musical composition

the symphony's finale

b

: the closing part, scene, or number in a public performance

the finale of the ballet

In the finale, the singer sang an Italian classic.

c

: the last and often climactic event or item in a sequence

the TV show's season finale

Synonyms

• ending
• conclusion
• end
• culmination

Examples of finale in a Sentence

She sung a very difficult song for the finale.

the finale to the festivities was a grand display of fireworks

Recent Examples on the Web

Bichette didn’t require additional testing, but the Jays decided to hold him out of the finale lineup. —Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

After making a positive impact on Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) in her season 2 debut, Chef Terry returned in the season 3 finale to deliver a moving speech about the importance of a restaurant being service to the customer — not the food itself. —Carson Blackwelder, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025

The Kansas City Royals entered Sunday’s series finale feeling good about their postseason standing. —Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2025

Johansson knows a thing or two about what makes a great SNL host, having done so herself a total of seven times so far, including last May's season 50 finale. —Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Italian, noun derivative of finale, adjective, "last, final entry 1," going back to Latin fīnālis

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing finale

• grand finale

Rhymes for finale

• alley
• alli
• bally
• calli
• challis
• dally
• galley
• galli
• lally
• mallee
• mally
• rally

Kids Definition

finale

noun

fi·​na·​le fə-ˈnal-ē  fi-ˈnäl- 

: the close or end of something (as a musical work)