the last part of a story, movie, or event that shows how it finishes
The movie's ending surprised everyone in the cinema.
Maria loved the book but thought the ending was too sad.
the act or fact of something coming to a stop or finish
The ending of winter brought warmer days to the village.
They announced the ending of the concert with a final song.
letters added to the end of a word to show its grammatical form, like tense or number
Add the ending "-ed" to form the past tense of the verb.
The plural ending "-s" is easy for most nouns.
to stop, finish, or come to a close
The meeting will end at four o'clock.
Summer seems to end sooner every year.
to bring something to a stop or to a final point
They decided to end the meeting early.
She wants to end the argument and move on.
to use up or exhaust effort, energy, or other resources
After the marathon, she felt she had spent every ounce of energy.
Don't spend all your strength lifting that heavy box at once.
to usually behave in a particular way or to be likely to do something
Children tend to copy the behavior of their parents.
I tend to get sleepy after lunch.
✦ From Middle English tenden, from Old French tendre, from Latin tendere meaning “to stretch” or “to incline”.
to continue or reach over a particular distance, area, or period of time
The Great Wall of China extends for thousands of kilometers across rugged mountains.
The music festival extends over two full weeks each summer.
✦ Same Latin root as other senses: extendere “stretch out”.
a general direction or pattern in which something develops or changes over time
Over the past decade, there has been a clear upward trend in global smartphone use.
The scientist pointed at a graph showing a downward trend in the bird population.
✦ From Middle English, borrowed from Old English trendan “to roll, turn”, later shifting to the idea of turning or moving in a certain direction.
continuously relying on someone or something for what you need or for something to happen
The villagers are depending on the river for fresh water.
During the hike, we were depending on our map to find the right path.
✦ Present participle of the verb “depend,” which comes from Latin dependere meaning “to hang down” or “be contingent on.”
