Meanings
verbend up (third-person singular simple present ends up, present participle ending up, simple past and past participle ended up)
present singular third person ends up · participle present ending up · participle past ended up · past ended up
- copulativeTo come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected; to turn out.
They ended up angry at each other.
4 more examples
He ended up as an insurance agent.
I was going for a stroll, and ended up lost.
She gave her all, and ended up winning the contest.
This was the West Lancashire Railway, an ambitious but feckless little concern which, in a life lasting a quarter of a century, never earned a dividend, failed to keep up its debenture payments (despite a dangerous attempt to do so by issuing more debentures) and ended up in the hands of a receiver.
1960 March 28, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, “Railway Development in Preston—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 201 - transitiveTo lift or tilt, so as to set on end.
to end up a hogshead
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected; to turn out.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan acabar-se, acabar
- acabar-secome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- acabarcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Chinese Mandarin 到达
- 到达 (dàodá)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Czech skončit
- skončitcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Dutch belanden, terechtkomen
- belandencome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- terechtkomencome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Finnish päätyä, tehdä lopulta
- päätyäcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- tehdä lopultacome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- joutuacome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
French se terminer, se finir
- se terminercome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- se finircome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- se retrouvercome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- finircome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- finir parcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- arrivercome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- terminercome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
German sich herausstellen, am Ende irgendwo / etwas sein
- sich herausstellencome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- am Ende irgendwo / etwas seincome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- landencome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- damit endencome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Greek γίνομαι, καταντάω
- γίνομαι (gínomai)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- καταντάω (katantáo)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Hungarian végződik, véget ér
- végződikcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- véget ércome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- végezcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- kikötcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- végülcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- kerülcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- jutcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- érkezikcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- találja magátcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Italian andare a finire, finire
- andare a finirecome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- finirecome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- ritrovarsicome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- finire percome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- finire colcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Korean 종식되다
- 종식되다 (jongsikdoeda)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Norwegian havne
- havnecome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Polish kończyć się, skończyć się
- kończyć sięcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- skończyć sięcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- znaleźć sięcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- kończyćcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- skończyćcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Portuguese terminar, acabar
- terminarcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- acabarcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- resultantecome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Romanian termina, sfârși
- terminacome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- sfârșicome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Russian зака́нчиваться, зако́нчиться
- зака́нчиваться (zakánčivatʹsja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- зако́нчиться (zakónčitʹsja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- оказа́ться (okazátʹsja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- ока́зываться (okázyvatʹsja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Spanish terminar, ir a parar
- terminarcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- ir a pararcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- quedarcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- acabarcome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Swedish hamna
- hamnacome to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Ukrainian закі́нчуватися, закі́нчитися
- закі́нчуватися (zakínčuvatysja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- закі́нчитися (zakínčytysja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- опини́тися (opynýtysja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- опиня́тися (opynjátysja)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- зре́штою (zréštoju)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
- вре́шті решт (vréšti rešt)come to a final place, condition, or situation, sometimes unplanned or unexpected
Cite this entry
APA
end up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/end%20up
MLA
“end up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/end%20up. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “end up,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/end%20up.
Source: end up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.