end
[noun]
Synonyms:
- extremity, boundary, edge, extent, extreme, limit, point, terminus, tip
- finish, cessation, close, closure, ending, expiration, expiry, stop, termination
- conclusion, culmination, denouement, ending, finale, resolution
- remnant, butt, fragment, leftover, oddment, remainder, scrap, stub
- destruction, death, demise, doom, extermination, extinction, ruin
- purpose, aim, goal, intention, object, objective, point, reason
[verb]
Synonyms:
- finish, cease, close, conclude, culminate, stop, terminate, wind up

---

Antonyms: beginning, begin
Contrasted words: center, hub, middle, genesis, inception
Related Idioms: cutoff point, end of the line, stopping point
Related Words: borderline, tip, extreme, extremity, consummation, culmination, expiration, coda, curtains, finale, finality, finis, terminal, windup, butt end, fag end, leaving, remainder, remnant, residue, part, particle, piece

---

English Thesaurus: end, finish, be over, come to an end, draw to an end/to a close, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. end¹ S1 W1 /end/ noun
[Word Family: noun: end, ending; adjective: unending, endless; verb: end; adverb: endlessly]
[Language: Old English; Origin: ende]

1. LAST PART [singular] the last part of a period of time, event, activity, or story Antonym : beginning, start
end of
Costs are expected to double by the end of 2012.
at the end
What would she find at the end of her journey?
Hooker’s death marked the end of an era.
I played the tape from beginning to end.

2. FINISHED [singular] a situation in which something is finished or no longer exists
put/bring an end to something
It’s hoped the talks may bring an end to the violence.
call for/demand an end to something
The EU is demanding an end to the ivory trade.
At last it seemed the war might be coming to an end.
The spacecraft is nearing the end of its useful life.
be at an end
He rose to indicate that the conversation was at an end.
Well, I hope that’s the end of the matter.
Another year has passed, with no end in sight to the suffering.

3. FURTHEST PART [countable] the part of a place or object that is furthest from its beginning or centre
end of
We sat at opposite ends of the table.
He wore spectacles perched on the very end of his nose.
The end of the pencil snapped.
Jo joined the end of the line.
the far end (=furthest from you) of the room
The channel measures 20 feet from end to end.
stand/place something on end (=in an upright position)
He stood the box on end to open it.
lay/place something end to end (=in a line, with the ends touching)
bricks laid end to end

4. SCALE [countable usually singular] one of the two points that begin or end a scale
lower/cheaper etc end
the cheaper end of the price range
At the opposite end of the political spectrum are the Marxist theories.
Some teenagers are just a nuisance, but at the other end of the scale there are kids who pose a real threat.

5. CONNECTION [countable usually singular] one of two places that are connected by a telephone call, journey etc
the end of the phone/line
Sometimes, all you need is a calm voice on the end of the phone.
We’ll get a bus connection at the other end.
Any problems at your end (=where you are)?

6. REMAINING PIECE [countable] especially British English a small piece of something that is left after you have finished with it:
cigarette ends

7. AIM [usually plural] an aim or purpose, or the result you hope to achieve
political/military etc ends
40% of all research is undertaken for military ends.
She’ll do anything to achieve her own ends.
Every task has a clear end in view.
to that end formal:
He wants to cut costs, and to that end is looking at ways of cutting the company’s operations.
an end in itself (=something you do because you want to, not in order to get other advantages)
IT is a tool for learning, not merely an end in itself.
the end justifies the means (=used to say that doing bad things is acceptable if they achieve an important result)

8. PART OF AN ACTIVITY [singular] informal part of a job, activity, or situation that involves or affects one person or group of people:
She works in the sales end of things.

9. SPORT [countable] one of the two halves of a sports field

10. DEATH [countable usually singular] a word meaning death – used to avoid saying this directly:
He met his end (=died) in a car accident.

11. at the end of the day spoken used to give your final opinion after considering all the possibilities:
At the end of the day, it’s his decision.

12. for days/weeks etc on end for many days, weeks etc without stopping:
He was tortured for days on end.

13. in the end after a period of time, or after everything has been done:
What did you decide in the end?

14. end of (story) spoken informal used to mean that you will not say any more about something, or that the situation cannot be changed:
I’m not going – end of story.

15. the end of your tether/rope the point at which you are so angry and tired of a situation that you can no longer deal with it:
Frustrated and bitter, Hogan had reached the end of his tether with politics.

16. the end of the road/line the end of a process, activity, or state:
Our marriage had reached the end of the line.

17. make ends meet to have only just enough money to buy the things you need:
When Mike lost his job, we could barely make ends meet.

18. it’s not the end of the world spoken used to tell someone that a problem is not as bad as they think

19. hold/keep your end up British English informal to stay brave and hopeful in a difficult situation

20. no end spoken informal very much:
Your letter cheered me up no end.

21. no end of trouble/problems etc spoken informal a lot of trouble etc:
This will cause no end of trouble.

22. the living end American English spoken used as an expression of slight disapproval – often used humorously:
What will she do next? She’s the living end!

23. go to the ends of the earth literary to do everything possible to achieve something:
I’d go to the ends of the earth to be with him.

24. to the end of time literary forever
⇒ dead end, odds and ends, ⇒ be-all and end all at be²(15), ⇒ to the bitter end at bitter¹(6), ⇒ burn the candle at both ends at burn¹(19), ⇒ jump/be thrown in at the deep end at deep¹(17), ⇒ go off at the deep end at deep¹(18), ⇒ be at a loose end at loose¹(14), ⇒ make sb’s hair stand on end at hair(8), ⇒ be on/at the receiving end (of something) at receive(5), ⇒ be on the sharp end of at sharp¹(19), ⇒ come to a sticky end at sticky(6), ⇒ the tail end of something at tail¹(6), ⇒ at your wits’ end at wit(7), ⇒ get the wrong end of the stick at wrong¹(15)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. end² S1 W1 verb
[Word Family: noun: end, ending; adjective: unending, endless; verb: end; adverb: endlessly]

1.
a) [intransitive] if an event, activity, or story ends, it stops happening Antonym : start, begin:
World War II ended in 1945.
end with
The festival will end with a spectacular laser show.
b) [transitive] to make something stop happening Antonym : start, begin:
The talks are aimed at ending the conflict.

2. [intransitive] to finish what you are doing Antonym : start, begin:
I think we'll end there for today.
end by doing something
I’d like to end by inviting questions from the audience.

3. [intransitive] if a road, path, line etc ends, it reaches its final point Antonym : start, begin:
This is where the line ends.

4. [transitive] to reach the final point in a period of time in a particular condition Antonym : start, begin:
They ended the game with a score of 63-42.
The company ended the year with record profits.

5. end your days to spend the last part of your life in a particular place or doing a particular thing:
He ended his days in prison.

6. end your life/end it all to kill yourself

7. the ... to end all ... used to describe something that is the best, most important, or most exciting of its kind:
the movie with the car chase to end all car chases

8. the year/week etc ending something used to refer to the year etc that ends on a particular date:
the financial results for the year ending 31 Dec 2008

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

end
noun
I. furthest part of sth
ADJ. bottom, lower | top, upper | back, rear, tail (figurative) I just caught the tail end of the movie.
front | extreme, very | far, opposite, other That's his wife sitting at the far end of the table.
round, square, etc. | pointed, sharp | cheap housebuyers at the cheap end of the market
dear, expensive | dead We tried cutting through a back road but it was a dead end.
(figurative) a dead-end job
deep, shallow (of a swimming pool) (figurative) The company believes in throwing new employees in at the deep end with at the end of the movie.
by the ~ He wants the reports by the end of the month.
in the ~ In the end, they decided to spend the holiday at home.
to the ~ He won't win, but he'll keep fighting to the end.
towards the ~ I was getting bored towards the end of the talk.
till/until the ~ I'm staying until the end of this week. | up to the ~ It stayed hot right up to the end of September.
~ to What the business community wants is an end to the recession.
PHRASES the end of an era Her death marks the end of an era.
the end of the line/road (figurative) The loss of this no training.
free, knotted, loose Take the free end of the rope and pass it through the hole.contract could signal the end of
(figurative) The author tied up all the loose ends of the story in the final chapter.
west, western, etc. the southern end of the lake
VERB + END come to, get to, reach Continue until you reach the end of the road.
change The teams changed ends at half time.
PREP. at the ~ Turn into Hope Street and our house is right at the end.
on ~ Stand it on end (= upright).
PHRASES end of the spectrum The two parties represent opposite ends of the political spectrum.
(from) end to end We walked along the whole promenade, from end to end. They arranged the tables end to end.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

end
II. last part of sth
ADJ. abrupt, sudden | dramatic | early The injury brought her career to an early end.
fitting The award was a fitting end to a distinguished career.
VERB + END come to, get to, reach The meeting finally came to an end at six. I'll never get to the end of this book!
approach, draw to, near As the evening was drawing to an end, the firework display took place.
bring (sth to), put Talks were in progress to bring an end to the fighting.
call for call for an end to the violence
END + VERB be in sight There's no end in sight to the present crisis.
END + NOUN product, result The film's backers were delighted with the end product.
PREP. at an ~ The proceedings are expected to be at an end by 6 p.m.
at the ~ They get married the line for the shipyard.
from beginning to end His story was one big lie from beginning to end.
to/until the bitter end We will fight this court case to the bitter end.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

end
III. aim/purpose
ADJ. beneficial, desirable, worthwhile, worthy | destructive | practical, pragmatic | common Despite our differences, we were working to a common end.
selfish | commercial, economic, educational, ideological, political, social, utilitarian
VERB + END achieve, further, pursue She was prepared to lie in order to achieve her ends.
work to
PREP. to … ends The money might have been used to more beneficial ends.
to this ~ She wished to have a house built, and to this end she engaged a local architect.
PHRASES an end in itself For her, travelling had become an end in itself rather than a means of seeing new places.
a means to an end I don't enjoy studying computing?it's just a means to an end.
the end justifies the means He defended a morality in which the end justifies the means.
to/for your own ends She is exploiting the current situation for her own ends.
with this end in view (= in order to achieve this)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

end
IV. death
ADJ. sad, tragic | bad, sticky to come to a sticky (= unpleasant, but deserved) end
untimely
VERB + END come to, meet (literary) He met his end at the Battle of Waterloo.
END + VERB come The end came when he collapsed after playing golf.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

end
verb
ADV. abruptly, suddenly The meeting ended abruptly when the chairman was called away.
prematurely | at last, eventually, finally At last the war ended.
all but, effectively, virtually A back injury effectively ended her career.
inconclusively The peace talks have ended inconclusively, with neither side prepared to give way on key points.
peacefully | disastrously, tragically | disappointingly, unhappily
PREP. in The attempt finally ended in failure.
with The show ended with a song.
PHRASES end in disaster The military action could end in disaster.
end in tears (figurative) After all that excitement the day was bound to end in tears (= unhappily).

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

end

the end of the day/week/month etc
Karen’s returning to the States at the end of the month.
the end of March/July/December etc
My licence runs out at the end of May.
the end of the war
The two men met once again before the end of the war.
be/mark the end of an era (=be the end of a period of time in history that is known for a particular event, or for particular qualities)
The principal’s death marked the end of an era at the college.
from beginning to end
Michael Jordon led the race from beginning to end.
come to an end (=end)
Arsenal’s ten-match unbeaten run came to an end with a 3–2 defeat at United.
draw to an end (=to reach the end)
My holiday was drawing to an end.
get to/reach the end of something
The 40 year-old power station has now reached the end of its operating life.
put an end to something (=make something end)
A shoulder injury put an end to his baseball career.
bring an end to something/bring something to an end (=make something end)
They began peace talks aimed at bringing an end to the civil war.
call for/demand an end to something (=publicly ask for something to happen or be done)
The union is calling for an end to discrimination.
a sudden/abrupt end (=sudden and unexpected)
After the news leaked out, his political career came to a sudden end.
an early end
Hopes of an early end to the conflict are fading.
a fitting end to something (=right for a particular situation or occasion)
The fireworks display was a fitting end to the celebrations.
the end of the matter
If you think that’s the end of the matter, you’re mistaken.
the end is in sight (=near)
After a three year wait, the end is finally in sight.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

end
I.
verb
1.
BAD: The film was ended at eight-thirty.
GOOD: The film ended at eight-thirty.

Usage Note:
The verb end is usually intransitive: 'The war ended in 1975.' 'When does the next programme end?' 'Just as the film was ending, the baby woke up.'
When end is transitive, it means 'finish or stop something': 'I couldn't decide how to end the letter.' 'To end the meal we had some coffee and an ice-cream.'

---

2.
BAD: Since nobody would lend me the money, I ended asking my father for it.
GOOD: Since nobody would lend me the money, I ended up asking my father for it.
BAD: The trouble with smoking is that you end with making a habit of it.
GOOD: The trouble with smoking is that you end up making a habit of it.
BAD: Nowadays very few criminals end in jail.
GOOD: Nowadays very few criminals end up in jail.

Usage Note:
end = finish or cause (something) to finish: 'The lessons usually end at five o'clock but some teachers end their lessons early.'
end up = (1) be forced to do something (after everything else has failed): 'For months she refused to pay us any rent, so we ended up taking her to court.' (2) eventually find yourself in a particular place or condition: 'If you don't stop smoking, you'll end up in hospital.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

end
II.
noun
1.
BAD: At the end I decided not to go.
GOOD: In the end I decided not to go.
BAD: In the end of the dinner someone made a speech.
GOOD: At the end of the dinner someone made a speech.

Usage Note:
FINALLY · IN THE END · EVENTUALLY · AT LAST · AFTER ALL · AT THE END
Finally and lastly are used (1) at the beginning of a sentence) to introduce the past point in a speech, reply, essay etc: ‘finally, I’d like to consider the economic arguments.’ ‘Lastly, I’d like to thank you all for coming and wish you a safe journey home.’ (2) to introduce the last action in a sequence of actions or the last thing in a list: ‘Finally, as soon as you hear a beep, press the start button.’ ‘She showed us the new dress, then the blouse, and lastly the shoes.
Finally and eventually are used to show that something happens after a long time or delay: ‘When the bus finally arrived it was full up.’ ‘Eventually the baby stopped crying and we managed to get some sleep.’
Eventually and in the end are used to introduce the result or outcome of something: ‘In the end United won by three goals to two.’ ‘It seems more and more likely that the human race will eventually destroy itself.’
At last means ‘after a long period of waiting or trying to do something’: ‘I’m pleased to hear that you are out of hospital at last.’ Unlike eventually, at last is often used in connection with the present situation, and expresses a sense of relief: ‘I can’t believe that we’re actually getting on the plane at last.’ ‘Do you mean that you’ve really stopped smoking at last?’
After all means ‘despite what was planned, expected or believed’: ‘We stayed at home after all and watched the match on television.’ ‘I’m sorry to hear that you won’t be coming to London after all.’ After all is also used to remind someone of a fact which they should consider: ‘I’m not surprised you’re tired. After all, you didn’t get any sleep last night.’ ‘Why are you so upset about losing? After all, it’s only a game.’
At the end At the end refers to the point where something finishes: ‘Their house is at the end of the road.’ ‘Do you remember what happens at the end of the film?’ Unlike in the end, at the end is usually followed by of : ‘at the end of the lesson/course/road/year’.

---

2.
BAD: In the end, I would like to wish you all a very interesting and enjoyable stay.
GOOD: Finally, I would like to wish you all a very interesting and enjoyable stay.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

end if a event, activity, or story ends, it stops happening:
How does the story end?
The school year ends in June.
finish to end - use this about an organized event such as a meeting, party, or lesson, especially when saying what time it ends:
The meeting will finish at 5.30.
What time does your Spanish class finish?
be over if an event, activity, or period of time is over, it has ended:
I can’t wait for our exams to be over.
The long summer vacation was almost over.
come to an end to finally end – used about a period of time, a situation, or an activity that has continued for a long time:
The war finally came to an end six years later.
draw to an end/to a close written to end gradually over a period of time – used in written descriptions:
These problems still remained as the twentieth century drew to an end.
time is up if time is up, you are not allowed any more time to do something:
I wasn’t able to finish the test before the time was up.
time runs out if time runs out, there is no more time available to do something, especially something important:
The desperate search for survivors continues, but time is running out.
expire formal if a ticket, bank card, legal document etc expires, the period of time during which you can use it has ended:
I’m afraid we can’t accept this credit card – it expired last week.
be at an end if something is at an end, it has ended:
We both knew that our marriage was at an end.
The long wait was at an end.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

end the part of a place or object that is furthest from the centre or the beginning:
the end of the table
the end of the street
tip the end of something, especially something pointed:
the tip of your nose
an arrow tip
point the sharp end of something:
The point of the pencil broke.
the opposite/other end (of something)
Jon and his girlfriend were sitting at the opposite end of the bar.
the far end (of something) (=furthest from you)
He walked to the far end of the room and sat at his desk.
deep/shallow end (=used about the ends of a swimming pool where the water is deepest or least deep)
The kids were splashing about in the shallow end.
lay/place something end to end (=in a line, with the ends touching)
The roof tiles are laid end to end.
political/military financial etc ends
The government exploited the situation for political ends.
achieve your own ends (=to get what you want, used to show disapproval)
Some people would do almost anything to achieve their own ends.
to that end (=with that aim or purpose)
Our first priority is safety, and the airline is working to that end.
an end in itself (=the thing that you want to achieve)
The programme is not an end in itself, but rather the first step the prisoner takes towards a new life.
the end justifies the means (=used to say that something bad is acceptable, if it achieves a good result)
Their defence, that the end justifies the means, is not acceptable.
a means to an end (=a way of achieving what you want)
To Joe, work was a means to an end, nothing more.
with this end in view (=with this thing in mind as an aim)
We need to reduce costs, so with this end in view, the company is switching supplier.
finish to end - use this about an organized event such as a meeting, party, or lesson, especially when saying what time it ends:
The meeting will finish at 5.30.
What time does your Spanish class finish?
be over if an event, activity, or period of time is over, it has ended:
I can’t wait for our exams to be over.
The long summer vacation was almost over.
come to an end to finally end – used about a period of time, a situation, or an activity that has continued for a long time:
The war finally came to an end six years later.
draw to an end/to a close written to end gradually over a period of time – used in written descriptions:
These problems still remained as the twentieth century drew to an end.
time is up if time is up, you are not allowed any more time to do something:
I wasn’t able to finish the test before the time was up.
time runs out if time runs out, there is no more time available to do something, especially something important:
The desperate search for survivors continues, but time is running out.
expire formal if a ticket, bank card, legal document etc expires, the period of time during which you can use it has ended:
I’m afraid we can’t accept this credit card – it expired last week.
be at an end if something is at an end, it has ended:
We both knew that our marriage was at an end.
The long wait was at an end.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

end
end
See: at loose ends , at one's wits' end , burn the candle at both ends , go off the deep end , hair stand on end , hold one's end up or hold up one's end or keep one's end up or keep up one's end , living end , loose ends , make an end of , make ends meet , no end , no end to or no end of , on end , put an end of , rear end , short end , split end , tag end or tail end , tight end , to the bitter end , world without end

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲