ends

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of end.

   The ends of the rope had started to fray.

   Workers sealed the ends of each pipe before shipping.

   Note

   The regular plural carries the meanings of end along with it. The ends of a rope are its two extremities, while ends pursued are purposes or aims. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, as in the trail ends here. Word order tells them apart: after the or a possessive, ends is the noun; directly after a subject, it is the verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of end.

   The trail ends at a quiet mountain lake.

   Each chapter ends with a question for the reader.

   Note

   The verb form for he, she, it or any singular subject in the present tense. It works with or without an object: the trail ends at a lake, or she ends the call early. Some uses are ergative, so the meeting ends and the chair ends the meeting describe one event from two sides. To tell it from the plural noun, let word order guide you.

3. 3
   noundialectalMulticultural London Englishplural

   The area close to one's home; one's local neighborhood.

   Similar to American slang like 'the hood' or 'the block.'

   Everyone around the ends knew his family by name.

   She moved across the city but still visits her old ends.

   Similarhood, manor

   Note

   A Multicultural London English word, and it exists only in the plural: my ends, the ends, never an end. It usually comes with a possessive or the, and it often has a sense of territory, as in don't come round my ends. Grime and UK rap carry it, from Stormzy's "Food in the ends" (2015) to slowthai's "Come to my ends" (2016). Its near-synonyms are hood, manor and bits.

4. 4
   nounslangplural

   Money, particularly cash one has available.

   Similar to calling money 'dough' or 'bread.'

   She made decent ends working two jobs all summer.

   They blew all their ends on the weekend trip.

   Similarmoney, cash, dough, bread

   Note

   Like the 'neighborhood' sense, this slang word has no singular. It goes where money would go: decent ends, all their ends, never one end. Keep it for casual talk with people who already use it. In writing or in any formal setting, money or cash is the safe choice.

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