# final

Pronunciation: say "FY-nuhl" US /ˈfaɪn(ə)l/, UK /ˈfaɪnl̩/

## Adjective

1. Coming at the end of a series, process, word, or other sequence; last, with nothing following.
   - Simple: Last in a series or process, or at the end of a word.
   - _The final chapter jumps ahead twenty years to show the two friends as grandparents._
   - _Passengers boarded the final train of the night._
3. Putting an end to discussion or dispute; conclusive and not open to change.
   - Simple: So settled that nothing more can be changed or argued.
   - _The board's decision is final and cannot be overturned._
   - _Once the contract is signed, the terms become final._

## Noun

2. The closing round, game, or match of a competition, which determines the winner.
   - Simple: The last game or match that decides who wins a contest.
   - _The two top seeds advanced to the final after dominating their semifinals._
   - _Tickets for the championship final sold out within hours._
4. An examination at the end of a course or school term, or one at the end of a university degree that decides its result, often in the plural.
   - Simple: A big test at the end of a class, or the last exams of a university degree.
   - _Students crammed in the library the night before their chemistry final._
   - _The professor scheduled the final for the last week of the semester._

## Verb

5. To advance far enough in a competition to compete in its deciding round. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To win a spot in the last round of a contest.
   - _Only the top eight swimmers final in this event._
   - _He finaled in three events at the national championships._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Relating to the end or purpose to be achieved; concerned with the ultimate aim in view.
- (adjective) In grammar, expressing purpose, as in a clause that states why an action is performed.
- (noun) In the analysis of Chinese and similar languages, the part of a syllable after the initial consonant, made up of an optional medial glide and the rime.
- (noun) In Gregorian chant, the main note of a mode, on which a melody in that mode normally ends.

## Origin

Latin fīnis ("end") gave fīnālis ("relating to the end or to boundaries"), which passed through Old French final into Middle English as final. It took the place of the native English word endly.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/final (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).