pe ‧ nul ‧ ti ‧ mate /peˈnʌltəmət, peˈnʌltɪmət, pə-/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: paenultimus , from paene 'almost' + ultimus 'last' ]
not the last, but immediately before the last SYN last but one ⇨ ultimate :
the penultimate chapter
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say the next to last or, in British English, the last but one rather than use penultimate :
▪
the next to last chapter
▪
the last but one chapter British English
• • •
THESAURUS
■ the one that comes at the end
▪ last [only before noun] happening or existing at the end, with no others after:
What time does the last train leave?
|
Our house is the last one on the right.
▪ final [only before noun] last in a series of actions, events, parts of a story etc:
It’s the final game of the championship tomorrow.
|
the final scene of the film
▪ closing [only before noun] used about the last part of a long period of time, or of an event, book etc that has been exciting or interesting:
the closing years of the twentieth century
|
Barnes scored the winning goal in the closing minutes of the game.
▪ concluding [only before noun] used about the last part of a piece of writing, a speech, or an organized event, that ends it in a definite way:
the concluding section of the report
|
the judge’s concluding remarks
▪ penultimate /peˈnʌltəmət, peˈnʌltɪmət, pə-/ [only before noun] the one before the last one:
the penultimate chapter