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this new sports car is being billed as the ne plus ultra of automotive achievement
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ne plus ultra.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
It's the height, the zenith, the ultimate, the crown, the pinnacle. It's the peak, the summit, the crest, the high-water mark. All these expressions, of course, mean "the highest point attainable." But ne plus ultra may top them all when it comes to expressing in a sophisticated way that something is the pink of perfection. It is said that the term's predecessor, non plus ultra, was inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar, which marked the western end of the classical world. The phrase served as a warning: "(Let there) not (be) more (sailing) beyond." The New Latin version ne plus ultra, meaning "(go) no more beyond," found its way into English in the 1630s.
First Known Use: 1637
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearacme, apex, apogee, capstone, climax, crescendo, crest, crown, culmination, head, height, high noon, high-water mark, meridian, noon, noontime, peak, pinnacle, summit, tip-top, top, zenith;
bloom, blossom, flood tide, flower, glory, heyday, prime;
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ne plus ultra
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