ultimate: Meaning and Definition of

ul•ti•mate

Pronunciation: (ul'tu-mit), [key]
— adj.
  1. last; furthest or farthest; ending a process or series: the ultimate point in a journey; the ultimate style in hats.
  2. maximum; decisive; conclusive: the ultimate authority; the ultimate weapon.
  3. highest; not subsidiary: ultimate goal in life.
  4. basic; fundamental; representing a limit beyond which further progress, as in investigation or analysis, is impossible: the ultimate particle; ultimate principles.
  5. final; total: the ultimate consequences; the ultimate cost of a project.
  6. not to be improved upon or surpassed; greatest; unsurpassed: the ultimate vacation spot; the ultimate stupidity.
—n.
  1. the final point; final result.
  2. a fundamental fact or principle.
  3. the best, greatest, or most extreme of its kind.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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