I. ˈend noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ende, from Old English; akin to Old High German enti end, Old Norse endir, Gothic andeis end, Latin ante before, Greek anti against, Sanskrit anta end, Hittite hanz front
1.
a.
(1) : the portion of an area or territory that lies at or by the termination and that often serves as a delimitation or boundary ; specifically : a section of a city not within the center portion
the East End of London
(2) : the extreme, ultimate, or most remote section or area
a criminal hunted to the very ends of the earth
b.
(1) : a point that marks the extent of something : limit
no end of good things
gifts without end showered upon the newcomers
(2) : the point where something possessed of or exhibiting temporal progression ceases to exist
the end of the fiscal year
the end of a bullet's flight
c.
(1) : a narrow, sharp, or pointed part of something longitudinal or slender
the end of a pencil
the ends of a pole
the dangerous end of a knife
(2) : the extreme or last part lengthwise
the end of a board
end of a garden
end of a rope
the rear end of an automobile
d.
(1) : the terminal unit of someting spatial that is marked off by or exhibits a progression of units
the end of a series
(2) : the portion of a distillate (as from petroleum) at either extremity of its distillation range
the light or low ends are the most volatile portions
(3) : end man
(4) : a player stationed at the extremity of a line or team (as in football)
e.
(1) : the heading of a barrel or the lid of a metal can or drum
(2) : either half of a domino face
(3) : either extremity of a cricket pitch
batsmen changing ends after a run
2.
a. : cessation of a course of action, pursuit, or activity
the end of a war
working and never seeing the end in sight
b.
(1) : termination of being : death
an opponent of taxation until his very end
(2) : the dissolution of structural or functional existence : destruction , demolition
a freighter that met its end in a hurricane
c.
(1) : the ultimate state : final condition
the end being utter oblivion
(2) : the result of an activity : issue
the end of the matter being general agreement
d. : the complex of events, parts, or sections that forms an extremity, termination, or finish
the frontal attacks that marked the end of the war
3. : something incomplete, fragmentary, or undersize: as
a. : a leftover or scrap : remnant
the ends of meat
— see odds and ends
b. : a short or half piece of cloth — see mill end
c. : a deal or batten of timber less than eight feet long
4.
a. : an outcome worked toward especially with forethought, deliberate planning, and organized effort : purpose
the end being complete mastery of the subject
a politician working to the end that all debts be paid off
b.
(1) : the goal, ultimate intention, or purpose for the attainment of which an agent does something or ought to be acting
(2) : the object by virtue of which or the objective for the sake of which an event or a series of events happens or is said to take place : a final cause
5.
a. : a particular duty : share in an undertaking — used with keep and up
he was able to keep his end up
b. : a department or particular phase of an undertaking, business, or organization
the advertising end of insurance
6.
a. : a unit or turn in shooting (as in archery)
b. : an inning in a game played from one limit of a course toward the other (as in bowls)
7.
a.
(1) : a warp thread or yarn
(2) : a single sliver, roving, or yarn while in the process of manufacture on a textile machine
b. : waxed end
8. : the number of arrows (as three in England and six in America) shot by an archer during his turn
Synonyms:
termination , ending , terminus : end , the most common and most inclusive of the terms, may apply to the finish or the final limit in nearly any application
the end of a meal
the end of a book
the end of a road
the end of a life
the end of a play
the end of a journey
the end of a friendship
the end of one's endurance
termination or ending usually applies to an end in time or, less often, in space, of something that is brought to a close as by having set bounds or by being completed or no longer purposeful, ending often also including a portion prior to the exact terminal point
the termination of a lease
the termination of a moratorium
the ending of a play
the ending of vacation
to change the ending of a song
a long ending to a symphony
terminus applies to an end, usually a definite point or place, to which something moves or progresses or beyond which it does not go
the modern city hall is the terminus of the tour
an airline terminus
the northern terminus of the natural-gas pipeline
the eighth grade is for many the terminus of religious teaching — C.T.H.Sherlock
Synonym: see in addition intention .
•
- end for end
- end of one's rope
- in the end
- no end
- on end
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English enden, from Old English endian; akin to Old High German entōn to end, Old Norse enda; denominative from the root of English end (I)
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to carry out : perform fully
2.
a. : to bring to an end : terminate
the speech ended the ceremonies
b. : to bring about the death of : kill
if he love another, may panthers end him — W.B.Yeats
3. : to make up the end of : constitute the last element of
k ends the word back
a brass band ended the parade
4. : to place on end : upend
5. : to stand as the supreme example of — usually used in the infinitive
a novel to end all novels
6. : to attach the top and bottom pieces of (a set-up paper box)
containers ended by hand
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to come to an end : reach a final or ultimate point
the song ended on a high note
— often used with up
the party ends up with dancing
or in
his efforts ended in failure
b. : to come to a conclusion or ultimate state or situation
the poem stops rather than ends
— often used with up
the whole gang ended up in jail
2. : die
his parents ended in the … gas ovens — Joseph Alsop
— sometimes used with up
Synonyms: see close
III. transitive verb
Etymology: probably alteration of in (III) , v.
now dialect England : to put (grain or hay) into a barn or stack
IV. abbreviation
endorsed; endorsement