Meaning & use
ended up
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“ended up” is a form of “end up”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Finally came to be in a particular place, situation, or state, often without planning it.
Grammar: No object. Often followed by a preposition, an adjective, or -ing: ended up in Paris, ended up tired, ended up leaving.
Patterns
- ended up in/at a place
- ended up doing something
- ended up as something
- ended up + adjective
We got lost and ended up in a small village.
She studied law but ended up working as a journalist.
The party was boring, so we ended up watching a movie at home.
verbintransitive
Finally did something or reached a result after a series of events.
Grammar: Often followed by by + -ing to show the final action: ended up by apologizing.
Patterns
- ended up by doing something
- ended up with something
After hours of arguing, they ended up by agreeing to split the bill.
He ended up with a broken leg after the accident.
I ended up by taking the last train home.
Word forms
| base form | end up |
|---|---|
| third person singular | ends up |
| past tense | ended up |
| past participle | ended up |
| -ing form | ending up |
Common combinations
- ended up in
- The keys ended up in the bottom of my bag.
- ended up doing
- We ended up walking home because there were no taxis.
- ended up with
- She ended up with a better job than she expected.
- ended up as
- He ended up as the manager of the whole department.
- ended up together
- After all those years, they ended up together.
Synonyms and how they differ
- finished
- Focuses on the end of an action, not on the unexpected result; 'ended up' often suggests something unplanned.
- wound up
- Informal and very close in meaning, especially in British English; 'wound up' can also mean anxious or annoyed.
- turned out
- Used for how things finally happened, often with 'to be'; it is less about movement or place than 'ended up'.
Word family
- end up verb
- The base form of the phrasal verb.
- ending up verb
- The -ing form, as in 'I hate ending up alone at parties'.
Commonly confused: ended up or end? ended up or wind up?
ended up vs end
End means to stop or finish something; end up means to finally be in a situation or place, often by chance.
ended up vs wind up
Wind up is an informal synonym, but it also means to make someone angry or to tighten a clock.
Practice
After driving for hours, we ___ in a tiny town with no hotels.
Choose one answer.
Ended up means we finally arrived there, which fits the idea of an unplanned result. Ended with needs an object like 'the meeting ended with a song', and ended by needs an -ing verb after it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ended up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.