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Synonyms

end up

British  

verb

  1. (copula) to become eventually; turn out to be

    he ended up a thief

  2. (intr) to arrive, esp by a circuitous or lengthy route or process

    he ended up living in New Zealand
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
end up Idioms  

  1. Arrive at, result in, finish. For example, He thought he'd end up living in the city, or We don't know how Nancy will end up. [First half of 1900s] Also see wind up.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Having believed they had booked a lounge where they could eat breakfast after check-in, they ended up having to grab food at the services on the way back to Leicester.

From BBC

They ended up running out of water and finishing the climb 24 hours later than expected - but they were lucky.

From BBC

"He's got a point, and actually, he ends up being right about quite a bit," said Tracy.

From Barron's

The Mountain Village council ended up placing Wisor on administrative leave at his recommendation, pending a town inquiry.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then there is the downside: When these office relationships end, women subordinates see their earnings drop roughly 18% the year after the breakup—mainly because many of them end up leaving the company.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.