ending

Pluralendings

1. 1
   final sectionnouncountable

   The concluding part of something: the section that comes at the very end.

   The film's ending surprised audiences who expected a tragedy.

   Critics praised the novel for its quiet, understated ending.

   UsageOften a happy ending or an unexpected ending, for books, films and plays.

   Similarconclusion, finale, close, denouement

   Oppositebeginning, opening

   Note

   Joseph Campbell, in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, grants that modern romance rightly scorns the happy ending as a misrepresentation, since the world yields only one ending: death. Unlike the act of concluding, this ending is part of the work itself, something readers and critics can judge, praise or condemn.

2. 2
   coming to a closeverb

   Present participle and gerund of end.

   With the last of the snow melting off the roofs, winter is finally ending in the mountain towns.

   Negotiations are ending without any agreement between the parties.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   The act of bringing something to a close, or the point at which it stops.

   The ending of the trade dispute restored normal relations between the two nations.

   The ending of the rainy season let farmers return to their fields.

   UsageUsually the ending of or an ending to something; in everyday talk, the end of the war is more common.

   Similarconclusion, close, termination, cessation

   Oppositebeginning, start (entry), onset

4. 4
   word partnouncountable

   The final morpheme added to a base word to form an inflected version, such as the -s in 'dogs.'

   Latin relies on word endings to indicate case and number.

   The verb's ending tells you who is performing the action.

   Similarsuffix, inflection

   Note

   Grammar uses this word for the inflection at the tail of a word. Spanish verbs, for instance, change theirs for tense, mood and person. An ending is narrower than a suffix in general. It marks the grammatical form of a word, while a derivational suffix makes a new word. History can blur that line: in Swedish, some inflectional endings have turned into derivational suffixes, or even into clitics. Source

   Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Spanish verb endings vary with tense, mood and person. tulengua.iatext.ulpgc.es
   • Some Swedish inflectional endings have developed into derivational suffixes or clitics. en.wiktionary.org

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