ultimate

/ˈʌltəmət/

/ˈʌltɪmət/

Other forms: ultimates

The last in a series can be described as the ultimate. A cheeky kid, when asked what she wants to be when she grows up, might say, "I want to be an actress, a singer, and a veterinarian, but my ultimate goal is to be President of the United States."

A definition for the adjective ultimate is the furthest in space or time or the highest in degree or order. Traveling for business, you are flying first to London, then to Portugal, but your ultimate destination is South Africa. The kids ask you if they can invite friends over to play video games. It's a good idea to reply, "Mom isn't home from work yet and she's ultimate authority on the schedule."

Definitions of ultimate

1. adjective

   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”

   synonyms:

   crowning

   representing a level of the highest possible achievement or attainment

   eventual

   expected to follow in the indefinite future from causes already operating

   final, last, net

   conclusive in a process or progression

   last-ditch

   of something done as a final recourse (especially to prevent a crisis or disaster)

   supreme

   final or last in your life or progress

   antonyms:

   proximate

   closest in degree or order (space or time) especially in a chain of causes and effects

   immediate

   immediately before or after as in a chain of cause and effect
2. adjective

   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”

   synonyms:

   last

   coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining
3. noun

   the finest or most superior quality of its kind
   “the ultimate in luxury”

   type of:

   quality

   an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone