Meanings
- UKidiomaticAt the limit of one’s patience; frustrated or annoyed.
He proposed to call witnesses to show how the prisoner, a profligate and spendthrift, had been at the end of his financial tether, and had also been carrying on an intrigue with a certain Mrs. Raikes, a neighbouring farmer’s wife.
1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 152Synonyms: at the end of one's rope
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseAt the limit of one’s patience; frustrated or annoyed.
Translations
Arabic بَلَغَ السَّيْلُ الزُّبَى
- بَلَغَ السَّيْلُ الزُّبَى (balaḡa s-saylu z-zubā)at the limit of one’s patience
Chinese Mandarin 在耐心的极限
- 在耐心的极限 (zài nàixīn de jíxiàn)at the limit of one’s patience
Finnish olla katkeamispisteessä
- olla katkeamispisteessäat the limit of one’s patience
French au bout du rouleau, exaspéré
- au bout du rouleauat the limit of one’s patience
- exaspéréat the limit of one’s patience
German jemandem reißt der Geduldsfaden (gleich), mit seiner Geduld am Ende
- jemandem reißt der Geduldsfaden (gleich)at the limit of one’s patience
- mit seiner Geduld am Endeat the limit of one’s patience
Italian al limite della sopportazione
- al limite della sopportazioneat the limit of one’s patience
Korean 진퇴양난에 빠진
- 진퇴양난에 빠진 (jintoeyangnane ppajin)at the limit of one’s patience
Polish u kresu wytrzymałości
- u kresu wytrzymałościat the limit of one’s patience
Russian на грани срыва
- на грани срыва (na grani sryva)at the limit of one’s patience
Scottish Gaelic aig an dùbhlan le
- aig an dùbhlan leat the limit of one’s patience
Welsh i ben ei dennyn
- i ben ei dennynat the limit of one’s patience
Cite this entry
at the end of one's tether. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20the%20end%20of%20one's%20tether
“at the end of one's tether.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20the%20end%20of%20one's%20tether. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “at the end of one's tether,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20the%20end%20of%20one's%20tether.
Source: at the end of one's tether on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.