ENDING

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ending mean? 

• ENDING (noun)
  The noun ENDING has 5 senses:

1. the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)

2. the act of ending something

3. the point in time at which something ends

4. event whose occurrence ends something

5. the last section of a communication

  Familiarity information: ENDING used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENDING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

ending; termination

Context example:

I don't like words that have -ism as an ending

Hypernyms ("ending" is a kind of...):

morpheme (minimal meaningful language unit; it cannot be divided into smaller meaningful units)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ending"):

postfix; suffix (an affix that is added at the end of the word)

inflectional ending; inflectional suffix (an inflection that is added at the end of a root word)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of ending something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

conclusion; ending; termination

Context example:

the termination of the agreement

Hypernyms ("ending" is a kind of...):

change of state (the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ending"):

demonetisation; demonetization (ending something (e.g. gold or silver) as no longer the legal tender of a country)

abort (the act of terminating a project or procedure before it is completed)

discontinuance; discontinuation (the act of discontinuing or breaking off; an interruption (temporary or permanent))

deactivation; defusing (the act of deactivating or making ineffective (as a bomb))

abortion (termination of pregnancy)

disappearance; fade (gradually ceasing to be visible)

extinction; extinguishing; quenching (the act of extinguishing; causing to stop burning)

closedown; closing; closure; shutdown (termination of operations)

drug withdrawal; withdrawal (the termination of drug taking)

liquidation; settlement (termination of a business operation by using its assets to discharge its liabilities)

abolishment; abolition (the act of abolishing a system or practice or institution (especially abolishing slavery))

kill; killing; putting to death (the act of terminating a life)

destruction; devastation (the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists)

discharge; dismissal; dismission; firing; liberation; release; sack; sacking (the termination of someone's employment (leaving them free to depart))

adjournment; dissolution (the termination of a meeting)

overthrow (the termination of a ruler or institution (especially by force))

breakup; dissolution (the termination or disintegration of a relationship (between persons or nations))

relinquishing; relinquishment (the act of giving up and abandoning a struggle or task etc.)

retirement (withdrawal from your position or occupation)

closing; completion; culmination; mop up; windup (a concluding action)

release; tone ending ((music) the act or manner of terminating a musical phrase or tone)

Derivation:

end (bring to an end or halt)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The point in time at which something ends

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

end; ending

Context example:

the ending of warranty period

Hypernyms ("ending" is a kind of...):

point; point in time (an instant of time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ending"):

death; last (the time at which life ends; continuing until dead)

death; demise; dying (the time when something ends)

period (the end or completion of something)

year-end (the end of a calendar year)

close; conclusion; finale; finis; finish; last; stopping point (the temporal end; the concluding time)

cease (('cease' is a noun only in the phrase 'without cease') end)

fag end; tail; tail end (the time of the last part of something)

fin de siecle (the end of a century, especially the 19th century)

last gasp (the point of death or exhaustion or completion)

expiration; expiry; termination (a coming to an end of a contract period)

limit; terminal point; terminus ad quem (final or latest limiting point)

Derivation:

end (be the end of; be the last or concluding part of)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Event whose occurrence ends something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

conclusion; ending; finish

Context example:

when these final episodes are broadcast it will be the finish of the show

Hypernyms ("ending" is a kind of...):

happening; natural event; occurrence; occurrent (an event that happens)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ending"):

defeat; licking (an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest)

triumph; victory (a successful ending of a struggle or contest)

halt; stop (the event of something ending)

omega; Z (the ending of a series or sequence)

demolition; destruction; wipeout (an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something)

foregone conclusion; matter of course (an inevitable ending)

final result; outcome; result; resultant; termination (something that results)

end; last (the final stage or concluding parts of an event or occurrence)

Antonym:

beginning (the event consisting of the start of something)

Derivation:

end (put an end to)

end (be the end of; be the last or concluding part of)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The last section of a communication

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

close; closing; conclusion; end; ending

Context example:

in conclusion I want to say...

Hypernyms ("ending" is a kind of...):

section; subdivision (a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ending"):

coda; finale (the closing section of a musical composition)

epilog; epilogue (a short passage added at the end of a literary work)

peroration ((rhetoric) the concluding section of an oration)

anticlimax; bathos (a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one)

epilog; epilogue (a short speech (often in verse) addressed directly to the audience by an actor at the end of a play)

Holonyms ("ending" is a part of...):

narration; recital; yarn (the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events)

address; speech (the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience)

 Context examples 

An Antipruritic Effect involves suppression of an itching sensation caused by histamine stimulation of epidermal nerve endings.

(Antipruritic Effect, NCI Thesaurus)

It is released from the nerve ending and carries signals to cells on the other side of a synapse (space between nerve cells and other cells).

(Acetylcholine, NCI Dictionary)

Nanoparticles (particles just a few hundred atoms in size) are ending up in the environment by the ton, but scientists are still unclear about the long-term effects of these super-small particles.

(Nanoparticles may have bigger impact on the environment than previously thought, National Science Foundation)

Along with its carrier protein, neurophysin II, it is packaged into neurosecretory vesicles and transported axonally to the nerve endings in the neurohypophysis where it is either stored or secreted into the bloodstream.

(Arginine Vasopressin-Neurophysin II Preproprotein, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)

Bretylium tosylate is selectively taken up into peripheral nerve terminals and initially causes a release of norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve endings, thereby causing a sympathomimetic effect.

(Bretylium Tosylate, NCI Thesaurus)

A drug used to relieve pain by blocking signals at nerve endings.

(Bupivacaine, NCI Dictionary)

It also shows two previously imaged streams extending from either end of the nebula’s long axis, ending in bright ansae (Latin for “handles”).

(The Strange Structures of the Saturn Nebula, ESO)

Long after the surgery, and towards the end of healing of an incision wound, the nerve endings eventually grow back.

(Chemical from cactus-like plant shows promise in controlling surgical pain, while leaving touch and coordination intact, National Institutes of Health)

Lunar eclipses bring endings or closure, for they are always full moons.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Mammals inhale oxygen-rich air that funnels into smaller branches, ending in tiny sacs where oxygen enters and carbon dioxide leaves the bloodstream.

(Following the lizard lung labyrinth, National Science Foundation)