end
VERB:
(tr):
1. to bring to an end or conclusion:
We ended the discussion on a note of optimism.
2. to put an end to; terminate:
This was the battle that ended the war.
3. to form the end of:
This passage ends the novel.
4. to cause the demise of; destroy; kill:
A bullet through the heart ended him.
5. to constitute the most outstanding or greatest possible example or instance of (usually used in the infinitive):
You just committed the blunder to end all blunders.
6. to surpass; outdo:
a novel to end all novels.
7. to make up the end of:
a wedding scene ends the film.
(intr):
1. to come to an end; terminate; cease:
The road ends at Rome.
2. to issue or result:
Extravagance ends in want.
3. to reach or arrive at a final condition, circumstance, or goal (often followed by up):
to end up in the army; to end as a happy person.
4. to come to an end:
the meeting will end at noon.
5. to reach a specified ultimate rank, situation, or place —usually used with up:
ended up as a colonel.
6. die.
(tr or intr):
1. to bring or come to a finish; conclude.
2. to die or cause to die.
ADJECTIVE:
final or ultimate:
the end result; end markets.
Synonyms:
(noun) aim, arrest, arrestment, bound, cease, cessation, check, close, closedown, closure, conclusion, cutoff, design, discontinuance, discontinuation, ending, expiration, finish, goal, halt, intent, intention, lapse, limit, object, objective, offset, outcome, purpose, shutdown, shutoff, stay, stop, stoppage, surcease, termination, terminus, tip.
(verb) close, close out, complete, conclude, finish, round (off or out), terminate, wind up, wrap up.
Related Words:
break up, closure, conclude, conclusion, deadline, demise, edge, finish, goal, halt, issue, point, quit, resolution, result, retirement, side, term, top.
Antonyms:
(noun) continuance, continuation.
(verb) begin, commence, inaugurate, open, start.
Synonym Study 1 (noun) (Dictionary.com):
End, close, conclusion, finish, and outcome refer to the termination of something.
End implies a natural termination or completion, or an attainment of purpose:
the end of a day, of a race; to some good end.
Close often implies a planned rounding off of something in process:
the close of a conference.
Conclusion suggests a decision or arrangement:
All evidence leads to this conclusion; the conclusion of peace terms.
Finish emphasizes completion of something begun:
a fight to the finish.
Outcome suggests the issue of something that was in doubt:
the outcome of a game.
Synonym Study 2 (noun) (Dictionary.com):
Aim, end, and object all imply something that is the goal of one's efforts.
Aim implies that toward which one makes a direct line, refusing to be diverted from it:
a nobleness of aim; one's aim in life.
End emphasizes the goal as a cause of efforts:
the end for which one strives.
Object emphasizes the goal as that toward which all efforts are directed:
the object of years of study.
Synonym Study 3 (noun) (Merriam-Webster):
Intention, intent, purpose, design, aim, end, object, objective, and 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.
Synonym Study 4 (verb) (Merriam-Webster):
Close, end, conclude, finish, complete, and 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.
"at loose ends,"
without an occupation or plans; unsettled; uncertain:
He spent two years wandering about the country at loose ends.
"at one's wit's end,"
at the end of one's ideas or mental resources; perplexed:
I'm at my wit's end with this problem.
"go off the deep end" (informal):
1. to act in a reckless or agitated manner; lose emotional control:
She went off the deep end when she lost her job.
2. to lose one's temper; react angrily.
"in the end,"
finally; after all:
In the end they shook hands and made up.
"keep / hold one's end up,"
1. to perform one's part or share adequately:
The work is demanding, but he's holding his end up.
2. to sustain one's part in a joint enterprise.
3. to hold one's own in an argument, contest, etc.
"make an end of,"
to conclude; stop:
Let's make an end of this foolishness and get down to work.
"make ends meet,"
1. to live within one's means:
Despite her meager income, she tried to make ends meet.
2. to spend no more than the money one has.
Also "make both ends meet".
"put an end to,"
to cause to stop; terminate; finish:
The advent of sound in motion pictures put an end to many a silent star's career.
"at the end of the day,"
in the final reckoning.
"the end of the road,"
the point beyond which survival or continuation is impossible.
"throw someone in at the deep end,"
to put someone into a new situation, job, etc, without preparation or introduction.
"end it all" (informal):
to commit suicide.
Origin:
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English ende; cognate with Old Frisian enda, Middle Dutch e(i)nde, Old Saxon endi, Old High German anti, German Ende, Old Norse endi(r), Gothic andeis “end,” from unattested Germanic anthjá-; akin to Sanskrit ánta- “end”. Dictionary 2: Old English ende; related to Old Norse endir, Gothic andeis, Old High German endi, Latin antiae forelocks, Sanskrit antya last. —Dictionary.com. //
First Known Use of end: Noun: before the 12th century. Verb (1): before the 12th century. Adjective: 13th century. Verb (2): 1607. History and Etymology for end: Noun: Middle English ende, from Old English; akin to Old High German enti end, Latin ante before, Greek anti against. Verb (2): probably alteration of English dialect in to harvest. Combining form: French, from Greek, from endon within; akin to Greek en in, Old Latin indu, Hittite andan within — more at in. —Merriam-Webster.
Sources: 1, 2.
(tr):
1. to bring to an end or conclusion:
We ended the discussion on a note of optimism.
2. to put an end to; terminate:
This was the battle that ended the war.
3. to form the end of:
This passage ends the novel.
4. to cause the demise of; destroy; kill:
A bullet through the heart ended him.
5. to constitute the most outstanding or greatest possible example or instance of (usually used in the infinitive):
You just committed the blunder to end all blunders.
6. to surpass; outdo:
a novel to end all novels.
7. to make up the end of:
a wedding scene ends the film.
(intr):
1. to come to an end; terminate; cease:
The road ends at Rome.
2. to issue or result:
Extravagance ends in want.
3. to reach or arrive at a final condition, circumstance, or goal (often followed by up):
to end up in the army; to end as a happy person.
4. to come to an end:
the meeting will end at noon.
5. to reach a specified ultimate rank, situation, or place —usually used with up:
ended up as a colonel.
6. die.
(tr or intr):
1. to bring or come to a finish; conclude.
2. to die or cause to die.
ADJECTIVE:
final or ultimate:
the end result; end markets.
Synonyms:
(noun) aim, arrest, arrestment, bound, cease, cessation, check, close, closedown, closure, conclusion, cutoff, design, discontinuance, discontinuation, ending, expiration, finish, goal, halt, intent, intention, lapse, limit, object, objective, offset, outcome, purpose, shutdown, shutoff, stay, stop, stoppage, surcease, termination, terminus, tip.
(verb) close, close out, complete, conclude, finish, round (off or out), terminate, wind up, wrap up.
Related Words:
break up, closure, conclude, conclusion, deadline, demise, edge, finish, goal, halt, issue, point, quit, resolution, result, retirement, side, term, top.
Antonyms:
(noun) continuance, continuation.
(verb) begin, commence, inaugurate, open, start.
Synonym Study 1 (noun) (Dictionary.com):
End, close, conclusion, finish, and outcome refer to the termination of something.
End implies a natural termination or completion, or an attainment of purpose:
the end of a day, of a race; to some good end.
Close often implies a planned rounding off of something in process:
the close of a conference.
Conclusion suggests a decision or arrangement:
All evidence leads to this conclusion; the conclusion of peace terms.
Finish emphasizes completion of something begun:
a fight to the finish.
Outcome suggests the issue of something that was in doubt:
the outcome of a game.
Synonym Study 2 (noun) (Dictionary.com):
Aim, end, and object all imply something that is the goal of one's efforts.
Aim implies that toward which one makes a direct line, refusing to be diverted from it:
a nobleness of aim; one's aim in life.
End emphasizes the goal as a cause of efforts:
the end for which one strives.
Object emphasizes the goal as that toward which all efforts are directed:
the object of years of study.
Synonym Study 3 (noun) (Merriam-Webster):
Intention, intent, purpose, design, aim, end, object, objective, and 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.
Synonym Study 4 (verb) (Merriam-Webster):
Close, end, conclude, finish, complete, and 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.
"at loose ends,"
without an occupation or plans; unsettled; uncertain:
He spent two years wandering about the country at loose ends.
"at one's wit's end,"
at the end of one's ideas or mental resources; perplexed:
I'm at my wit's end with this problem.
"go off the deep end" (informal):
1. to act in a reckless or agitated manner; lose emotional control:
She went off the deep end when she lost her job.
2. to lose one's temper; react angrily.
"in the end,"
finally; after all:
In the end they shook hands and made up.
"keep / hold one's end up,"
1. to perform one's part or share adequately:
The work is demanding, but he's holding his end up.
2. to sustain one's part in a joint enterprise.
3. to hold one's own in an argument, contest, etc.
"make an end of,"
to conclude; stop:
Let's make an end of this foolishness and get down to work.
"make ends meet,"
1. to live within one's means:
Despite her meager income, she tried to make ends meet.
2. to spend no more than the money one has.
Also "make both ends meet".
"put an end to,"
to cause to stop; terminate; finish:
The advent of sound in motion pictures put an end to many a silent star's career.
"at the end of the day,"
in the final reckoning.
"the end of the road,"
the point beyond which survival or continuation is impossible.
"throw someone in at the deep end,"
to put someone into a new situation, job, etc, without preparation or introduction.
"end it all" (informal):
to commit suicide.
Origin:
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English ende; cognate with Old Frisian enda, Middle Dutch e(i)nde, Old Saxon endi, Old High German anti, German Ende, Old Norse endi(r), Gothic andeis “end,” from unattested Germanic anthjá-; akin to Sanskrit ánta- “end”. Dictionary 2: Old English ende; related to Old Norse endir, Gothic andeis, Old High German endi, Latin antiae forelocks, Sanskrit antya last. —Dictionary.com. //
First Known Use of end: Noun: before the 12th century. Verb (1): before the 12th century. Adjective: 13th century. Verb (2): 1607. History and Etymology for end: Noun: Middle English ende, from Old English; akin to Old High German enti end, Latin ante before, Greek anti against. Verb (2): probably alteration of English dialect in to harvest. Combining form: French, from Greek, from endon within; akin to Greek en in, Old Latin indu, Hittite andan within — more at in. —Merriam-Webster.
Sources: 1, 2.