Meaning & use
ultimate
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Coming at the very end of a process or series; final.
Grammar: Placed before a noun: the ultimate result; usually not used after be in this sense.
Patterns
- the ultimate goal/aim
- the ultimate outcome
The ultimate goal of the project is to cut energy use in half.
After many delays, the ultimate decision rested with the board.
The ultimate outcome of the trial surprised everyone.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
The best, greatest or most extreme of its kind.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: the ultimate test; often informal praise: the ultimate road trip.
Patterns
- the ultimate something
Climbing Everest is the ultimate test of endurance.
For many fans, that concert was the ultimate experience.
She considers a quiet beach the ultimate luxury.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Most basic or fundamental, with nothing more basic behind it.
Grammar: Often seen in ultimate cause, ultimate responsibility, ultimate source.
Patterns
- ultimate responsibility for something
The captain bears ultimate responsibility for the ship.
The ultimate source of the river is a small mountain spring.
Scientists seek the ultimate cause of the disease.
nounsingular
The very best or most extreme example of something.
Grammar: Used with the: the ultimate in comfort.
Patterns
- the ultimate in something
This sofa is the ultimate in comfort.
For a gamer, a 4K screen is the ultimate.
The resort promises the ultimate in relaxation.
Common combinations
- ultimate goal
- Her ultimate goal is to run her own restaurant.
- ultimate test
- The final exam was the ultimate test of what we had learned.
- ultimate authority
- The court has ultimate authority over the dispute.
- ultimate sacrifice
- Soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice are remembered each year.
- ultimate guide
- I found an ultimate guide to hiking in Iceland.
Synonyms and how they differ
- final
- Final simply means last in order, while ultimate can also mean the greatest or most basic.
- supreme
- Supreme stresses highest rank or degree, as in supreme court, whereas ultimate stresses being the end point or the extreme.
- eventual
- Eventual describes something that happens at the end after a time, but it does not carry the sense of greatest.
- fundamental
- Fundamental means basic and essential, which matches only the third sense of ultimate.
Opposites
Word family
- ultimately adverb
- in the end, after everything
- ultimatum noun
- a final demand with a threat attached
- penultimate adjective
- second to last
- ultimacy noun
- the state of being final or supreme (rare)
Commonly confused: ultimate or eventual? ultimate or penultimate?
ultimate vs eventual
Eventual means happening in the end, as in the eventual winner; ultimate can mean the final or the greatest.
ultimate vs penultimate
Penultimate means second from last, not the final one, though some learners think it means beyond ultimate.
Practice
In a company, the CEO has the ___ responsibility for every decision, even those delegated to others.
Choose one answer.
Ultimate responsibility means the final level where responsibility rests. Initial and temporary suggest early or short-term, and minor means small.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ultimate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.