English Reference

Word

end

US/ˈɛnd/

UK/ˈɛnd/

Definitions

01final part of time or space

A1 · Beginner Countable noun

n. the last part of something, such as a period of time, an event, or a physical object.

n. the terminal point of something in space or time; the final part of a duration or a physical extremity.

“We stayed until the very end of the movie to see the extra scene.”

“By the end of the fiscal year, the company had successfully restructured its debt and regained investor confidence.”

Antonyms

02a goal or purpose

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Formal

n. the reason why you do something; a goal or aim.

n. a purpose, goal, or intended result of an action.

“He used his wealth as a means to an end to help the local community.”

“The diplomat argued that the ends did not justify the means, insisting on ethical transparency throughout the negotiations.”

Synonyms

03money

C1 · Advanced Plural noun Slang

n. a slang word for money.

n. a slang term referring to financial gain or accumulated money.

“He's just trying to make some ends so he can pay his rent.”

“In many urban lyrics, the pursuit of ends is depicted as a primary motivator for characters navigating the gig economy.”

Synonyms

04graph theory

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Mathematics Technical

n. a special point in a mathematical graph.

n. an ideal point of a graph or other complex structure representing a direction in which the graph extends to infinity.

“The professor explained how to identify an end in an infinite graph.”

“The study of ends in infinite graphs allows mathematicians to classify the structural properties of groups acting on those graphs.”

05to finish

A1 · Beginner

v. to stop or finish something.

v. to bring something to a conclusion or to reach a terminal point.

“The concert ended with a beautiful piano solo.”

“The treaty effectively ended the border dispute that had plagued the two nations for over a decade.”

Antonyms

Collocations

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “end” in context.

01. end of the day 02. end of last 03. end the war 04. end of his life 05. end the conflict 06. end of the first 07. end of the season 08. end of the year

Etymology

From Middle English ende, from Old English ende, from Proto-West Germanic andī, from Proto-Germanic andijaz (“end”), from Proto-Indo-European h₂entíos (“forehead; front”), from h₂ent- (“face; forehead; front”), from *h₂en- (“on, onto”). Cognates Cognate with Yola een, eene (“end”), Saterland Frisian Eend, Eende (“end”), West Frisian ein (“end”), Alemannic German End, Endi (“end”), Central Franconian Eng, Enk (“end”), Cimbrian énte (“end”), Dutch eind, einde, end (“end”), German Ende (“end”), Luxembourgish Enn (“end”), Vilamovian end, ent (“end”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk ende (“end”), Faroese endi (“end”), Icelandic endi, endir (“end”), Swedish ända, ände (“end”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌴𐌹𐍃 (andeis, “end”); also Irish éadan (“end; front”), Manx eddin (“face; front”), Scottish Gaelic aodann (“face; hillside”), Latin antiae (“forelock”), Ancient Greek ἀντίος (antíos, “opposite”), Albanian anë (“brink; edge; facet; side”), Latvian no (“for; from”), Lithuanian nuo (“for; from”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian на (na, “on”), Czech, Kashubian, Lower Sorbian, Polish, Slovak, and Slovene na (“on”), Serbo-Croatian на, na (“on”), Old Armenian ընդ (ənd, “in the place, instead of”), Old Persian 𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎹 (abiy, “against; towards; upon”), Tocharian A ānt (“in front”), Tocharian B ānte (“in front of”), Sanskrit अन्त (anta, “boundary; border, edge; end, termination”). More at and and anti-. The verb is from Middle English enden, endien, from Old English endian (“to end, to make an end of, complete, finish, abolish, destroy, come to an end, die”), from Proto-Germanic andijōną (“to finish, end”), denominative from andijaz.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

Related words

Idioms

Domain

Mathematics

This entry

Exam level
CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
Frequency
Very common
Level
A1 · BeginnerOxford
Updated

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