bitter end

noun

That part of an anchor cable which is abaft the bitts and thus remains inboard when a ship is riding at anchor.

“pay out a rope to the bitter end (pay out all of the rope)”

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Meanings

nounbitter end (plural bitter ends)

plural bitter ends

  1. nauticalThat part of an anchor cable which is abaft the bitts and thus remains inboard when a ship is riding at anchor.

    pay out a rope to the bitter end (pay out all of the rope)

  2. nauticalThe final six fathoms (11 m) of anchor chain before the point of attachment in the chain locker of modern US naval vessels.
  3. idiomaticThe end of a long and difficult process.

Origin

The figurative usage is influenced by bitter (“unpleasant, arduous”). Indeed, the phrase has been reinterpreted by most today as bitter + end—compare bitter cold.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish katkera loppu
  • katkera lopputhe end of a long and difficult process
French étalingure
  • étalingurethat part of an anchor cable which is abaft the bitts and thus remains inboard when a ship is riding at anchor
Russian коренно́й коне́ц
  • коренно́й коне́ц (korennój)that part of an anchor cable which is abaft the bitts and thus remains inboard when a ship is riding at anchor
Cite this entry
APA

bitter end. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bitter%20end

MLA

“bitter end.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bitter%20end. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bitter end,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bitter%20end.

Source: bitter end on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.