ultimate

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ul·ti·mate

(ŭl′tə-mĭt)

adj.

a. Being last in a series, process, or progression: "As the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution, the Supreme Court occupies a central place in our scheme of government" (Richard A. Epstein). See Synonyms at last¹.

b. Eventual: hoped for ultimate victory.

2. Fundamental; elemental: an ultimate truth.

a. Of the greatest possible size or significance; maximum: the ultimate act of courage.

b. Representing or exhibiting the greatest possible development or sophistication: the ultimate bicycle.

c. Utmost; extreme: the ultimate insult.

1. The greatest extreme; the maximum: actions that represented the ultimate in political expediency.

2. also Ultimate A game played on a field by two teams of seven players each, the object being to gain possession of a flying disc by catching it and throwing it to a teammate, advancing the disc down the field until it is caught in the opponent's end zone. Players cannot run while holding the disc, and the game is self-officiated.

[Latin ultimātus, past participle of ultimāre, to come to an end, from ultimus, last, superlative of *ulter, on the other side; see al- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ultimate

(ˈʌltɪmɪt)

adj

1. conclusive in a series or process; last; final: an ultimate question.

2. the highest or most significant: the ultimate goal.

3. elemental, fundamental, basic, or essential

4. most extreme: genocide is the ultimate abuse of human rights.

5. final or total: an ultimate cost of twenty million pounds.

the most significant, highest, furthest, or greatest thing

[C17: from Late Latin ultimāre to come to an end, from Latin ultimus last, from ulter distant]

ˈultimateness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ul•ti•mate

(ˈʌl tə mɪt)

adj.

1. last; furthest or farthest: the ultimate destination.

2. decisive; conclusive: the ultimate authority.

3. highest; most desirable: one's ultimate goal.

4. basic; fundamental: ultimate principles.

5. final; total: the ultimate cost; ultimate consequences.

6. unequaled or unsurpassed: the ultimate vacation.

7. the final point or result.

8. a fundamental fact or principle.

9. the finest or most superior of its kind.

[1645–55; < Late Latin ultimāre to come to an end]

ul′ti•mate•ly, adv.

ul′ti•mate•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	ultimate - the finest or most superior quality of its kind; "the ultimate in luxury" quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare
Adj.	1.	ultimate - furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme; "the ultimate achievement"; "the ultimate question"; "man's ultimate destiny"; "the ultimate insult"; "one's ultimate goal in life" proximate - closest in degree or order (space or time) especially in a chain of causes and effects; "news of his proximate arrival"; "interest in proximate rather than ultimate goals"
	2.	ultimate - being the last or concluding element of a series; "the ultimate sonata of that opus"; "a distinction between the verb and noun senses of `conflict' is that in the verb the stress is on the ultimate (or last) syllable" last - coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining; "the last time I saw Paris"; "the last day of the month"; "had the last word"; "waited until the last minute"; "he raised his voice in a last supreme call"; "the last game of the season"; "down to his last nickel"

ultimate

adjective

1. final, eventual, conclusive, last, end, furthest, extreme, terminal, decisive He said it is still not possible to predict the ultimate outcome.

2. fundamental, basic, primary, radical, elemental the ultimate cause of what's happened

3. supreme, highest, greatest, maximum, paramount, most significant, superlative, topmost Of course the ultimate authority remained the presidency.

4. worst, greatest, utmost, extreme Treachery was the ultimate sin.

5. best, greatest, supreme, optimum, quintessential the ultimate luxury foods

noun

1. epitome, height, greatest, summit, peak, extreme, perfection, the last word This hotel is the ultimate in luxury.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

ultimate

adjective

1. Of or relating to a terminative condition, stage, or point:

final, last, latter, terminal.

2. Of or being an irreducible element:

basic, elemental, elementary, essential, fundamental, primitive, underlying.

3. Greatest in quantity or highest in degree that has been or can be attained:

maximal, maximum, top, topmost, utmost, uttermost.

4. Of the greatest possible degree, quality, or intensity:

extreme, supreme, transcendent, unsurpassable, utmost, uttermost.

5. Most distant or remote, as from a center:

extreme, farthermost, farthest, furthermost, furthest, outermost, outmost, utmost, uttermost.

noun

The greatest quantity or highest degree attainable:

maximum, outside, top, utmost, uttermost.

Idiom: ne plus ultra.

Translations

نِهائي، أخيرنِهَائِيّ

konečný

endeligultimativ

letzt letzter Nonplusultra

απώτατος

final postrero último

ülim

lopullinen

ultime dernier

konačan

endanlegur, loka-

finale definitivo estrema estremo basilare

最終的な

최후의

galop

galīgspēdējais

ultiem

elementær

największy najwyższy ostateczny ostatni

final

конечный окончательный последний

slutlig

สุดท้าย

en sonson

cuối cùng

最终的

ultimate

[ˈʌltɪmɪt]

A. ADJ

1. (= final) [aim, decision, destination] → final
she will retain ultimate responsibility for budgets → ella será la responsable en última instancia de los presupuestos, ella tendrá la máxima responsabilidad sobre presupuestos

2. (= greatest) [power, sacrifice] → máximo; [control] → total; [insult] → peor
the ultimate deterrent (Mil) → el mayor disuasivo
it will be the ultimate test of his abilities → supondrá la mayor prueba de su capacidad

3. (= best) the ultimate sports car → lo último en coches deportivos

4. (= basic) [purpose, truth, cause, source] → fundamental, principal

5. (= furthest) → más remoto, extremo

B. N the ultimate in luxury → lo último en lujos
it's the ultimate in hairstyling → es el último grito en estilos de peinado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ultimate

[ˈʌltɪmət]

adj

(= final) [outcome, success, decision, responsibility] → final(e); [aim, goal, objective, target] → ultime
the ultimate aim is to → le but ultime est de

(= fundamental) [source, cause, truth] → ultime

(= supreme) [authority, power, challenge, test] → suprême
It was the ultimate adventure → C'était l'aventure suprême.
It's the ultimate challenge → C'est le défi suprême.

(= worst) [sin, disgrace, insult, abuse] → suprême

(= best) [luxury] → suprême
the ultimate car → le summum de la voiture
the ultimate holiday → le summum des vacances

n
the ultimate in sth → le summum de qch
This car is the ultimate in luxury → Cette voiture est le summum du luxe.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ultimate

adj

(= final) → letzte(r, s); destiny, solution, decision → endgültig; control → oberste(r, s); authority → höchste(r, s); beneficiary → eigentlich; ultimate goal or aim → Endziel nt; ultimate result/outcome → Endergebnis nt; he came to the ultimate conclusion that … → er kam schließlich zu der Einsicht, dass …; what is your ultimate ambition in life? → was streben Sie letzten Endes or letztlich im Leben an?; although they had no ultimate hope of escape → obwohl letztlich or im Endeffekt keine Hoffnung auf Flucht bestand

(= that cannot be improved on) → vollendet, perfekt, ultimativ; the ultimate sports car → der Sportwagen in höchster Vollendung, der ultimative Sportwagen; the ultimate insult → der Gipfel der Beleidigung; the ultimate sin → die schlimmste Sünde; the ultimate disgrace → die größte Schande; the ultimate deterrent (Mil) → das endgültige Abschreckungsmittel; (fig) → die äußerste Abschreckungsmaßnahme; the ultimate weapon (Mil) → die Superwaffe; (fig) → das letzte und äußerste Mittel; death is the ultimate sacrifice → der Tod ist das allergrößte Opfer

(= basic) cause → eigentlich; explanation → grundsätzlich; truth → letzte(r, s); ultimate principle/problem → Grundprinzip/-problem nt; ultimate constituents → Grundbestandteile pl

(= furthest) → entfernteste(r, s); boundary of universe, frontier → äußerste(r, s); ancestors → früheste(r, s); the ultimate origins of man → die frühesten Ursprünge des Menschen

n → Nonplusultra nt; that is the ultimate in comfort → das ist Superkomfort or das Höchste an Komfort

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ultimate

[ˈʌltɪmɪt]

1. adj

a. (final, result, outcome) → finale; (conclusion) → definitivo/a; (destination) → ultimo/a

b. (greatest, insult) → massimo/a; (authority) → supremo/a, massimo/a
the ultimate deterrent (Mil) → il mezzo di dissuasione risolutivo

c. (principle, cause) → fondamentale

2. n the ultimate in luxury → il non plus ultra del lusso

ultimate

(ˈaltimət) adjective

last or final.

ˈultimately adverb

in the end. We hope ultimately to be able to buy a house of our own.

ultimate

→ نِهَائِيّ konečný ultimativ letzter απώτατος final lopullinen dernier konačan massimo 最終的な 최후의 ultiem elementær ostateczny final окончательный slutlig สุดท้าย son cuối cùng 最终的

ultimate

a. último-a, final; fundamental.

References in classic literature ?

And as upon the invasion of their valleys, the frosty Swiss have retreated to their mountains; so, hunted from the savannas and glades of the middle seas, the whale-bone whales can at last resort to their Polar citadels, and diving under the ultimate glassy barriers and walls there, come up among icy fields and floes; and in a charmed circle of everlasting December, bid defiance to all pursuit from man.

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It may be that in the larger design of the universe this invasion from Mars is not without its ultimate benefit for men; it has robbed us of that serene confidence in the future which is the most fruitful source of decadence, the gifts to human science it has brought are enormous, and it has done much to promote the conception of the commonweal of mankind.

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Weariness, which seeketh to get to the ultimate with one leap, with a death-leap; a poor ignorant weariness, unwilling even to will any longer: that created all Gods and backworlds.

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Then follow the incidents connected with the gathering of the Achaeans and their ultimate landing in Troy; and the story of the war is detailed up to the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon with which the "Iliad" begins.

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You are the Opossum of the Future, the ultimate Fittest Survivor of our species, the ripe result of progressive prehensility - all tail!"

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They were at a loss what route to take, and how far they were from the ultimate place of their destination, nor could they meet in these uninhabited wilds with any human being to give them information.

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There were days when my heart was volcanic As the scoriac rivers that roll -- As the lavas that restlessly roll Their sulphurous currents down Yaanek, In the ultimate climes of the Pole -- That groan as they roll down Mount Yaanek In the realms of the Boreal Pole.

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Taking a wide circuit round the ultimate tracks, so as to leave them undisturbed for further examination, the man proceeded to the spring, the girl following, weak and terrified.

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This was the ultimate belief on which all the systems elaborated by human thought in almost all their ramifications rested.

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I do not wish to urge that this form of causation is ultimate, but that, in the present state of our knowledge, it affords a simplification, and enables us to state laws of behaviour in less hypothetical terms than we should otherwise have to employ.

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Had Nalasu not been struck down by the ultimate nothingness, Jerry would have remained.

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But that native land was too far off, and for a man going a thousand miles it is absolutely necessary to set aside his final goal and to say to himself: "Today I shall get to a place twenty-five miles off where I shall rest and spend the night," and during the first day's journey that resting place eclipses his ultimate goal and attracts all his hopes and desires.