Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Ultimate

Ul′ti-mate

,
Adj.
[LL.
ultimatus
last, extreme, fr. L.
ultimare
to come to an end, fr.
ultimus
the farthest, last, superl. from the same source as
ulterior
. See
Ulterior
, and cf.
Ultimatum
.]
1.
Farthest; most remote in space or time; extreme; last; final.
My harbor, and my
ultimate
repose.
Milton.
Many actions apt to procure fame are not conductive to this our
ultimate
happiness.
Addison.
2.
Last in a train of progression or consequences; tended toward by all that precedes; arrived at, as the last result; final.
Those
ultimate
truths and those universal laws of thought which we can not rationally contradict.
Coleridge.
3.
Incapable of further analysis; incapable of further division or separation; constituent; elemental;
as, an
ultimate
particle; an
ultimate
constituent of matter
.
Ultimate analysis
(Chem.)
,
organic analysis. See under
Organic
.
Ultimate belief
.
See under
Belief
.
Ultimate ratio
(Math.)
,
the limiting value of a ratio, or that toward which a series tends, and which it does not pass.
Syn. – Final; conclusive. See
Final
.

Ul′ti-mate

,
Verb.
T.
&
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Ultimated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Ultimating
.]
1.
To come or bring to an end or issue; to eventuate; to end.
[R.]
2.
To come or bring into use or practice.
[R.]

Webster 1828 Edition


Ultimate

UL'TIMATE

,
Adj.
[L. ultimus, furthest.]
1.
Furthest; most remote; extreme. We have not yet arrived at the ultimate point of progression.
2.
Final; being that to which all the rest is directed, as to the main object. The ultimate end of our actions should be the glory of God, or the display of his exalted excellence. The ultimate end and aim of men is to be happy, and to attain to this end, we must yield that obedience which will honor the law and character of God.
3.
Last in a train of consequences; intended in the last resort.
Many actions apt to procure fame, are not conductive to this our ultimate happiness.
4.
Last; terminating; being at the furthest point.
5.
The last into which a substance can be resolved; constituent.

Definition 2024


ultimate

ultimate

English

Adjective

ultimate (not comparable)

  1. Final; last in a series.
    • 1677, Robert Plot, “Of the Heavens and Air”, in The natural history of Oxford-shire: Being an Essay Toward the Natural History of England, page 15:
      [] they [the sounds of an echo] next strike the ultimate secondary object, then the penultimate and antepenultimate; []
  2. (of a syllable) Last in a word or other utterance.
  3. Being the greatest possible; maximum; most extreme.
    the ultimate pleasure
    the ultimate disappointment
    • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page vii
      Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
  4. Being the most distant or extreme; farthest.
  5. That will happen at some time; eventual.
  6. Last in a train of progression or consequences; tended toward by all that precedes; arrived at, as the last result; final.
    • Coleridge
      those ultimate truths and those universal laws of thought which we cannot rationally contradict
  7. Incapable of further analysis; incapable of further division or separation; constituent; elemental.
    an ultimate constituent of matter

Antonyms

Derived terms

Coordinate terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

ultimate (plural ultimates)

  1. The most basic or fundamental of a set of things
  2. The final or most distant point; the conclusion
  3. The greatest extremity; the maximum
  4. (uncountable) The sport of ultimate frisbee.

Translations

Verb

ultimate (third-person singular simple present ultimates, present participle ultimating, simple past and past participle ultimated)

  1. (transitive, archaic) To finish; to complete.
    • 1869, The New-Jerusalem Magazine (volume 41, page 36)
      These measures have been carried forward with a zeal and unanimity that warrant the hope we entertain, of ultimating the plans in respect to our Temple, before the next meeting of the Maryland Association.

Anagrams


Finnish

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈultimɑte/
  • Hyphenation: ul‧ti‧ma‧te

Noun

ultimate

  1. ultimate frisbee (game)

Declension

Inflection of ultimate (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
nominative ultimate ultimatet
genitive ultimaten ultimatejen
partitive ultimatea ultimateja
illative ultimateen ultimateihin
singular plural
nominative ultimate ultimatet
accusative nom. ultimate ultimatet
gen. ultimaten
genitive ultimaten ultimatejen
ultimateinrare
partitive ultimatea ultimateja
inessive ultimatessa ultimateissa
elative ultimatesta ultimateista
illative ultimateen ultimateihin
adessive ultimatella ultimateilla
ablative ultimatelta ultimateilta
allative ultimatelle ultimateille
essive ultimatena ultimateina
translative ultimateksi ultimateiksi
instructive ultimatein
abessive ultimatetta ultimateitta
comitative ultimateineen

Italian

Verb

ultimate

  1. second-person plural present indicative of ultimare
  2. second-person plural imperative of ultimare
  3. feminine plural of ultimato

Anagrams


Latin

Verb

ultimāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of ultimō