end

1 the stopping of a process or activity the end of hostilities brought general rejoicing Synonyms arrest, arrestment, cease, cessation, check, close, closedown, closure, conclusion, cutoff, discontinuance, discontinuation, ending, expiration, finish, halt, lapse, offset, shutdown, shutoff, stay, stop, stoppage, surcease, termination Related Words mop-up, phaseout; abeyance, break, interruption, layoff, letup, moratorium, pause, standstill, suspension Near Antonyms extension, persistence, prolongation Antonyms continuance, continuation

2 a real or imaginary point beyond which a person or thing cannot go I'm at the end of my patience with these little brats Synonyms bound, boundary, cap, ceiling, confines, limit, extent, limitation, line, terminationRelated Words extremity, fag end, terminus; border, brim, edge, margin, rim, verge; outside; bar, barrier, fence, hedge, restraint, stop, wall

3 an unused or unwanted piece or item typically of small size or value a couple of ends of wallpaper were all that was left after we finished papering the room Synonyms scrap, fag end, leftover, oddment, remainder, remnant, stubRelated Words leavings, odds and ends, pickings, refuse, remains, residual, residue, scraping(s), stump, vestige; balance, rest; chip, flake, fragment, piece, sliver, splinter; ribbon(s), shred, tatterNear Antonyms whole

4 something that one hopes or intends to accomplish in this case the ends definitely do not justify the means Synonyms aim, ambition, aspiration, bourne (also bourn), design, dream, goal, idea, ideal, intent, intention, mark, meaning, object, objective, plan, point, pretension, purpose, target, thingRelated Words grail, holy grail; plot, project, scheme; desire, hope, mind, wish; nirvana; destination, terminusNear Antonyms means, method, way

5 the last and usually sharp or tapering part of something long and narrow a child's pair of scissors with blunt ends Synonyms apex, cusp, point, nib, nose, pike, tipRelated Words pinpoint; prong, tine; barb, jag, prickle, snag, spike, sticker

6 the last part of a process or action the war wasn't yet over, but we were definitely at the beginning of the end Synonyms capper, close, closing, conclusion, consummation, finale, endgame, ending, finis, finish, grand finale, home stretch, mop-up, windup, wrap-upRelated Words acme, apex, capstone, climax, copestone, coup de grâce (or coup de grace), crescendo, crown, culmination, high-water mark, meridian, peak, pinnacle, summit, tip-top, top, zenith; aftermath, anticlimax, coda, epilogue (also epilog), postscript; shank, tag end, tail endNear Antonyms foreword, introduction, overture, preamble, preface, prelude, prologue (also prolog)Antonyms baseline, beginning, dawn, day one, nascence, nascency, opening, start

7 the line or relatively narrow space that marks the outer limit of something the ends of his shirt cuffs were badly frayed Synonyms borderline, bound, boundary, brim, circumference, compass, confines, edge, edging, border, frame, fringe, hem, margin, perimeter, periphery, rim, skirt, skirting, vergeRelated Words ambit; brink, crest, curb, cusp, lip; ceiling, maximum; demarcation, extent, limitation, measure, mere, restriction, termination; borderland, frontier, march, outskirts, pale, selvage; lap; shoreNear Antonyms center, core, heart; inner, inside, interior, middle, within

8 the permanent stopping of all the vital bodily activities Henry Hudson and eight others were set adrift in the bay in a small boat, and how they met their end is unknown Synonyms curtains, decease, demise, dissolution, doom, death, exit, expiration, expiry, fate, grave, great divide, passage, passing, quietus, sleepRelated Words casualty, fatality; martyrdom, self-destruction, self-murder, self-slaughter, suicide; annihilation, destruction, ending, extermination, ruin; assassination, execution, killing, massacre, slaughterNear Antonyms existence, life; creation, genesis, origination, riseAntonyms birth, nativity