finalizer
n.n. a person or thing that finishes a task or puts the last parts of a plan together. In computer programming, it is a special instruction that cleans up memory when an object is no longer needed.
n. an agent or entity that brings a process to its conclusion. In object-oriented programming, it refers to a method invoked by the garbage collector to perform cleanup operations before an object is destroyed.
The committee appointed him as the finalizer for the new contract.
The lead architect acted as the finalizer, reviewing every small detail before the blueprints were sent to the construction team.
In Java, the use of a finalizer is generally discouraged in favor of try-with-resources, as there is no guarantee regarding the exact timing of its execution by the virtual machine.
Derived from the verb finalize and the agentive suffix -er. The root originates from the French finaliser, which stems from the Medieval Latin finalis.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In technical contexts, it often refers specifically to memory management methods in software development.
Last updated July 22, 2026