Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ultimate

/ˈʌltɪmət/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.53 in modern English

Syllables
ul-tim-ate
IPA
/ˈʌltɪmət/
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Final; last in a series.

adj

Last in a word or other utterance.

adj

Being the greatest possible; maximum; most extreme.

adj

Being the most distant or extreme; farthest.

adj

That will happen at some time; eventual.

noun

The most basic or fundamental of a set of things

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

* From Medieval Latin ultimātus (“furthest, last”), perfect passive participle of ultimō (“to come to an end”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from ultimus (“last, final”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See ultra-. * (ultimate frisbee): The sport was renamed to avoid the use of the Frisbee trademark.

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *h₂el- (other), ultimātus

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈʌltɪmət/
  • British English: /ˈʌltɪmət/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce ultimate?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʌltɪmət/.
What does ultimate mean?
Final; last in a series.
Where does ultimate come from?
* From Medieval Latin ultimātus (“furthest, last”), perfect passive participle of ultimō (“to come to an end”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from ultimus (“last, final”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See ultra-. * (ultimate frisbee): The sport was renamed to avoid the use of the Frisbee trademark.

How to pronounce ultimate

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ultimate”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʌltɪmət/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ultimate”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “ultimate” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.