end

1 of 5

noun

ˈend

Synonyms of end next

: 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

: the extreme or last part lengthwise : tip

: the terminal unit of something spatial that is marked off by units

: a player stationed at the extremity of a line or team (as in football)

: cessation of a course of action, pursuit, or activity

: death, destruction

c(1)

: the ultimate state

(2)

: result, issue

: something incomplete, fragmentary, or undersized : remnant

: an outcome worked toward : purpose

the end of poetry is to be poetry—

R. P. Warren

: the object by virtue of or for the sake of which an event takes place

: a share in an undertaking

kept your end up

: a particular operation or aspect of an undertaking or organization

the sales end of the business

: something that is extreme : ultimate

—used with the

: a period of action or turn in any of various sports events (such as archery or lawn bowling)

ended

ˈen-dəd

adjective

end

2 of 5

verb (1)

ended; ending; ends

transitive verb

: to bring to an end

: destroy

: to make up the end of

a wedding scene ends the film

intransitive verb

: to come to an end

the meeting will end at noon

: to reach a specified ultimate rank, situation, or place

—usually used with up

ended up as a colonel

: die

end

3 of 5

adjective

: final, ultimate

end results

end markets

end

4 of 5

verb (2)

ended; ending; ends

transitive verb

dialectal, England

: to put (grain or hay) into a barn or stack

end-

5 of 5

combining form

variants or endo-

: within : inside

endoskeleton

compare ect-, exo-

: taking in

endothermic

Phrases

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

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

Example Sentences

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 See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Wonder what Pat Riley thinks about all that money sitting on the end of the bench? —

Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2023 The Spartans also turned five offensive rebounds into seven points without giving up a second-chance opportunity at the other end. —

Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 20 Mar. 2023 The loss before the Sweet 16 was a disappointing end for the Jayhawks after winning the national title last season and this year's Big 12 regular season. —

Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2023 But, look, at the end, being indicted never helps anybody. —

ABC News, 19 Mar. 2023 The poignancy of this scene will stick with anyone who has ever experienced a similar confusion, loss of confidence or fear — or has been on the end of worry about a missing loved one. —

Nancy Lord, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Mar. 2023 Lucho makes an impact (84') Luciano Acosta sprayed a ball long to Sergio Santos, who got on the end of it and deposited it for 3-2. —

Cincinnati Enquirer, The Enquirer, 19 Mar. 2023 My deepest condolences on the end of your college life. —

Selena Barrientos, Good Housekeeping, 19 Mar. 2023 The city of Carlsbad owns the 67-acre parking lot around the mall, including about 10 acres on the northern end of the lot that’s in Oceanside. —

Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2023

Verb

Do all these forces arise because of an inability or an unwillingness by Israel to fundamentally make peace and end the occupation? —

Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023 After World War II, designating the start and end dates for daylight saving time fell to state governments. —

Beth Ann Malow, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2023 Don’t expect investment in these startups to transform or end the student loan crisis. —

Amanda Hoover, WIRED, 6 Mar. 2023 If all goes as planned in coming days, Moore could end that drought. —

Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2023 The steep costs associated with ticketing drew the attention of Debt Free Justice Illinois, a coalition of advocacy groups working to end fines and fees for youths in the justice system. —

Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, 3 Mar. 2023 Many of the same political leaders who fought to end Roe v. Wade also oppose policies such as the child tax credit and paid family leave. —

Laura Goetz, STAT, 3 Mar. 2023 But 500 Women Scientists will end its Fellowship for the Future program, which provided a $5000 stipend, leadership training, and other support to women of color working to make STEMM fields more inclusive and equitable. —

Bycatherine Offord, science.org, 2 Mar. 2023 But given all the glaring similarities between ’00s-era diet culture and our current landscape, there are important distinctions that can actually empower us to end this cycle. —

Michelle Konstantinovsky, Glamour, 2 Mar. 2023

Adjective

Crawford’s end-of-2022 numbers — a 3-6 record and 5.47 ERA with a 23.1 percent strikeout rate and 8.7 percent walk rate before getting shut down with a shoulder impingement — were hardly dazzling. —

Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Mar. 2023 The process would recycle end-of-life battery and production scrap and remanufacture that into critical materials, the Energy Department said in a blog post. —

Matthew Daly, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2023 While most sharks gradually returned to shallow waters after the end-Permian mass extinction, some species permanently adapted to deeper waters, concludes the Cladodontomorph study. —

Samantha Arrowsmith, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2022 SungEel Recycling Park Georgia will recycle end-of-life batteries to reclaim critical metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. —

J. Scott Trubey, ajc, 18 Aug. 2022 Over the next several years, the first generation of EV batteries will reach end-of-life. —

Doron Frenkel, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 These conclusively tied the Siberian flood basalts to the end-Permian mass extinction, a key result for both biology and geology. —

Howard Lee, Ars Technica, 2 July 2022 Sedimentologist Christopher Fielding of the University of Connecticut, one of our longtime colleagues, had recently identified these rocks as river and lake sediments deposited during the end-Permian event. —

Chris Mays, Scientific American, 23 June 2022 But Heller and McDonald do not support applying means-end scrutiny in the Second Amendment context. —

Matt Ford, The New Republic, 23 June 2022 See More

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.