DictionaryAI

ultimately

adverb
SayUL-ti-mit-leeUS/ˈʌl.tɪ.mɪt.li/UK/ˈʌl.tɪ.mɪt.lɪ/AUS/ˈɐl.tɪ.mɪt.li/

2 meanings of ultimately

Practice

  1. 1
    in the endadverb
    In the end; finally, after all the earlier events, steps or stages.

    The negotiations dragged on for weeks, but ultimately both sides reached an agreement.

    Ultimately, the bridge was completed two years behind schedule.

    UsageOften at the start of a clause, or before an adjective: an ultimately hopeless effort, an ultimately happy ending.

    Note

    In the ultimately luckless Hennessey, a goalkeeper who was busy and effective early in a match is judged by how it ended. Placed before an adjective, ultimately gives the final verdict, often against an earlier impression: an ultimately hopeless effort, an ultimately happy ending.

  2. 2
    most importantlyadverb
    Used to mark the most important point or action, the one that outweighs all the others.

    We debated the design endlessly, but ultimately the budget drove every decision.

    Ultimately, a company's reputation rests on how it treats its customers.

    UsageOften opens the sentence, with a comma, much like at the end of the day: Ultimately, it's your call.

    Similarbasically, essentially, fundamentally

    Note

    Here the word weighs rather than counts: it signals that, whatever else is true, this point decides the matter. Its closest relatives are at the end of the day and when all is said and done. Unlike the 'in the end' meaning, it need not place anything later in time. In 'Ultimately, he will have to decide', it names the decisive fact, not the last event.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of ultimately apart? Answer 2 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Formed from "ultimate" combined with the suffix "-ly".

Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 1 fact