finals

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of final.

   Students across the dorm were cramming for their finals all week.

   The championship finals went to a dramatic overtime.

   Note

   The plural does its busiest work in schools, where it can mean two different things. In the US, Canada and the Philippines, finals are the exams that close a term or a single class. In a second use, finals are the exams at the end of an undergraduate degree, which count toward the student's degree classification. In competitions it means more than one deciding round.

2. 2
   nounCommonwealthIrelandPhilippinesUK

   A contest that narrows a field of finalists to ranked positions, usually numbered places, or a winner followed by numbered runners-up.

   The regional finals will rank the top eight gymnasts into medal positions.

   After a tense afternoon, the chess finals produced a clear winner and two runners-up.

   Similarchampionships, playoffs

   Oppositepreliminaries

   Note

   The word stays plural here even though it names one event: the closing stage of a competition, where the remaining finalists are sorted into places rather than simply cut down to a winner. It belongs to British, Irish, Commonwealth and Philippine usage. It suits events decided by ranking, such as gymnastics or chess. A single deciding match is the final, in the singular.

3. 3
   nounabbreviationclipping

   Clipping of final approach. Chiefly British; American pilots say final.

   The crew ran the landing checklist as the aircraft settled onto finals.

   A gusty crosswind pushed the jet off the runway centerline twice while it was on finals.

   Note

   Pilot shorthand that keeps its -s while naming a single stretch of flight: the last descent lined up with the runway before touchdown. It usually goes without an article and follows on or onto. A plane settles onto finals, or drifts in a crosswind while on finals. As a clipping, it belongs to cockpit talk. In careful prose, final approach is the fuller form.

4. 4
   verbcolloquial

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of final. Colloquial and rare.

   Note

   Behind this form is a colloquial verb: to final is to qualify for the final round of a competition. A sprinter who finals has made it through to the last race. The verb is intransitive, so the athlete finals; nothing is finaled. It shares its spelling with the plural noun, and the sentence around it shows which one is meant.

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